<p>I think one thing CC fails to grasp often is that admit rates=/=“difficulty of entry” for a lot of the upper-tier schools. For example, people will see an SAT 25-75 percentile range of 1400-1540 MCR and a ten percent admit rate and assume that the 10% basically applies to people that are in that range. That is not true. If you are in a colleges target range, your chances are going to be noticeably greater than the 10% rate suggests because of the magnitude of unqualified applicants. It won’t ~50% or anything like that, but it will be higher. You have to understand that outside of this community there are a lot of people with no perspective on what is considered a good SAT score by these schools, and that these schools get a lot of applicants for the wrong reasons. There was a good thread a while back which I haven’t been able to find that gave stats on Harvard applicants. I think >40% of them had <1800 so that gives you some idea of what I’m getting at.</p>
<p>But several factors such as athlete recruitment, legacy, affirmative action, special admit cases do much to bring that admit rate score down for many colleges. For most people who have only their academics to get in, its important to shoot for the higher end of that percentile. Sure, their chances are higher, but they are NEVER guaranteed admission. So wouldn’t you rather live in overkill than mindless complacency?</p>
<p>little? a lot!</p>
<p>being from canada I still dont understand how one none academic test (because really the sat is about logic and reasoning) can make or break your admission… in canada we just have a big provincial test for each subject you choose too take and that accounts for 50% of your mark (based on the curiculum you learn in school) and you get accepted on strictly your marks…</p>
<p>edit: too bad most of the athletic programs suck in canada lol (excluding hockey of course)</p>
<p>^ We’re not exactly happy about that either, screw standardized testing… but getting accepted solely on your marks is also a problem, no?</p>
<p>Mindless complacency is a little strong. All I’m saying is that I see people all the time on here that don’t know what those ranges actually mean.</p>