@Happytimes2001 @ljberkow : Let us keep it real. If this increase in interest at these top schools continues, selection beyond “academically qualified and good resume”…perhaps 50%+ of applicants at these places (and there are 20-30k apps for 1000-2000 spots in a freshman class, AND places want to protect and manipulate their yields for the stupid rankings and “school pride”), selection will continue to just come down to: Do the readers at the time of reviewing your application just have a magical good feeling about you that they don’t get from other applicants who look exactly the same for whatever reason. Legacy “may” be a consideration, but most of them, if applying to elites will fit in that bracket of 10k+ apps that meet the “qualified” or “very qualified” threshold. Beyond that, there is a lot of luck and always will be as long as volume is as high as it is. These people reading the apps. either “feel” you fit or are needed or not at the time of reading an application (if the person has a stomach ache or is bored by time they reach your app…that is more likely to affect the outcome than some legacy or whatever competing for your spot). And they need not feel guilty because usually a qualified and deserving denied applicant who did their due diligence will end up at some other horrible elite school that is not Harvard, but you know, Williams, Emory, Berkeley, and if not those…worse one of those horrible honors colleges at a strong flagship university. You know places that provide no resources or academic challenges to the students. They will just be screwed for life. If only those 6% would not have been admitted. Maybe only 1-5% instead hahaha.
People act as if the process without all these demographic and background issues would just become much less messy. That would only happen with the following scheme:
“Take the 20k+ applications, develop a spreadsheet with their SAT/ACT scores and GPAs (or class rank if reported), then select the first 3000 with the highest combos. Second, rank these students by how many ECs they put on their resume or mention the common app”. Some elites are clearly trying some version of this scheme (there is in fact, one elite who, to appear holistic despite essentially doing that, literally lists a percentage of students with a “significant leadership position” and of course says 100% every time…you know, because only the % matters and definitions of “significant” can’t be contrived at all. Students are numbers after all. Humanity and substance, what is that?). It certainly works with the rankings, but is failing to enhance “product quality”, so obviously isn’t optimal even if one envisions the purest of meritocracies (so even if it means little ethnic diversity).