<p>So if a person were to have a 2300+ and a high GPA (3.9+) and top 1% in their class, are they pretty much guaranteed to be accepted to at least one top school (assuming decent ECs, but nothing special).</p>
<p>Yes, if they are also an interesting person that has several facets to themselves outside of academics only. But if all they did was study their brains out, take extensive SAT prep courses, take the SAT three or four times and superscore, and take 15 AP classes (with 5 of them being on-line outside of school) – then nope. I still remember the headmaster of my kids’ middle school telling a story about a senior she was interviewing (for Harvard): the girl was just like the OP described, and as the interview went on, the interviewer finally said “what do you do for fun?” and the girl was stymied. Hemmed and hawed for a minute. And the interviewer gently told her the interview was over, and encouraged her to “get a life outside of school.”</p>
<p>It depends what you define as a “top” school, and if you mean Ivy/S/M then definitely not.</p>
<p>Only people that can manage a 7 figure donation, get the guarantee. Assuming they have a 2.0 average and a 1200/2400 superscore.</p>
<p>Take the time to read some of the many past Results threads and the answer is very clear.</p>
<p>I know of one with a straight 36 on all sections of ACT (took cold, without prep), and four 800 on SAT2 that was denied in all ivy’s that he applied to. Is this helpful?</p>
<p>If the definition of top school covers USNR top 50, yes. </p>
<p>If limited to top 25, no.</p>
<p>^But the top 25 are in the top 50 ;).</p>
<p>True. My view is if OP applied to at least one school in top 10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, he will fulfill his definition of getting into a top school. If his definition includes top 10 and nothing else, at least one school admission has probably no chance based only on the credentials listed.</p>
<p>Rumor has it that there are certain schools in the Top 20 that are suckers for top test scores, as long as you can pay full ride. Not a guarantee, but your chances would be vastly increased.</p>
<p>Top 1% as a Texas resident mean automatic admission to any Texas public university. If you consider University of Texas - Austin or any other Texas public university a “top” school, the answer would be yes if you are a Texas resident.</p>
<p>I think with those numbers most public schools in top 50 would accept. I am not certain about any privates in top 20-25 though.</p>
<p>A guarantee to any Canadian top schools</p>
<p>In short, no. At schools with single digit acceptance rates, thousands of their applicants have similar grades and SAT/ACT scores. How are admission officers to tell them apart? Personal statements.</p>
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</p>
<p>The three biggest myths:
1)Second gunman on the grassy knoll
2)Bigfoot
3)My SAT’s were perfect.</p>
<p>
Rumors Schmoomers. We want names! Got someone close to me in that situation :-)</p>
<p>^ ED to a non-Ivy between 10-20 if the only goal is to get into a top 20 with high scores/GPA and don’t need money.</p>
<p>I recommend the school that is edible…</p>
<p>
It depends how you define “pretty much guaranteed” and “top school.” If you mean 95+% chance and high on USNWR rankings, then the answer would be no for Stanford, MIT, Ivy or other top 20 USNWR. Many of these colleges reject the vast majority of applicants with stats like above. I’d expect the highest rank schools that meet this criteria are Wake Forest, Case Western, Penn State, Rochester, and Georgiatech. I am basing this on historical acceptance rates for similar stat candidates, scatterplots, and Parchment predictions.</p>
<p>Honestly I think the people who got 2400/4.0 UW and still got rejected from all top schools were just idiots who were only book-smart.</p>
<p>I’m just basing this on the fact that I had no ECs and still managed to get into some decent schools.</p>