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<p>Yeah, that’s just not true. If a guy/gal at my former school has a 4.0 UW in all honors/AP classes and high test scores (generally 2300-2400 range for these applicants), then the lower ivies and the equivalent are basically safety schools and are treated as such. And if you add in some non-stat factors, such as ECs, hooks, etc. then admission to top ivies can almost be guaranteed. Like a legacy valedictorian at my school whose ECs are decent and who can write a solid essay is all but in. That is why, when some legacy at my school was admitted to Harvard, his reaction (which he told people) was “relief.” Not ecstasy or excitement like most other admittees, just relief. In other words, Harvard was a safety for him. It’s not like he was dumb to think Harvard as a safety either. His academics and ECs alone were enough to get him into Princeton as well. Princeton probably wasn’t a safety, as his grades weren’t perfect, but Harvard was. </p>
<p>This definitely isn’t the case at most other HS, but I just want to dispel this myth.</p>