How Did the "Super-Applicants" Do?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Remember this article:</p>

<p><a href=“http://nymag.com/news/features/24398/index.html[/url]”>http://nymag.com/news/features/24398/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Does anyone know how these students did in the admissions process?</p>

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<p>Yes, I remember that-I also remeber the CC condescension mind you. It would be great to know how they fared.</p>

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<p>One of them showed up on the forum and got in ED at Columbia. It would be interesting to see how they all did. I thought the candidates ranged from good to excellent, but I just thought it was an overstatement to title the article “Super-Applicants.” Maybe I am a little jaded from reading “stats” here on cc, but if I were to assemble a group of so-called “Super Applicants” they would all have 2400 SATS, 5.0 GPAs on a 4.5 scale, and be winners of multiple national awards.</p>

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<p>Some of the CC condescension might have been understandable. Some of the super-applicants’ accomplishments seemed highly suspect. 20 hours of cancer research per week? Come on now. Either way, these students seem pretty smart as a whole and I just wonder how they did.</p>

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<p>b u m p</p>

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<p>I think the first girl got into princeton, as judging by the facebook group.</p>

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<p>Here’s the update:</p>

<p><a href=“http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/26299/[/url]”>http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/26299/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>^^Thank You</p>

<p>Not to start any kind of debate, but this article is yet another example of AA screwing people. An Asian with a 2400 SAT 5’s on AP tests gets deferred from MIT. I guarantee that if a minority had those credentials, he/she would have the red carpet rolled out for him/her.</p>

<p>The 2060 girl gets into Harvard, along with a 2140 Yale admit. Both were hispanic. I know people with better EC’s and test scores who have been rejected. The only difference was that they were white.</p>

<p>This article, although informative, turned out to be another microcosm of what AA does. Before everyone accuses me of belittling the accomplishments of these students, that’s not my goal. Getting into Harvard, Yale, or any Ivy for that matter is no easy feat. Nonetheless, one has to admit that AA has a lot to do with why the Asian girl got rejected.</p>

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Sigh, not this again.</p>

<p>Any student from a suburban or high-achieving area with perfect SATs will be seen by MIT as having had a different environment and circumstances than someone from a less enriching or less privileged environment who scored similarly. Someone from a rough inner city or rural area who showed similar scores would show that they had overcome far more obstacles to demonstrate their abilities and promise, and these are qualities MIT Admissions looks for in applicants. And note the comment from Katherine Cohen: "While she may be admitted to MIT early, I am not convinced she?s a shoo-in?I?d want to see more evidence that she?s giving back to the community.? You might want to read this piece about [“The</a> Match between you and MIT”](<a href=“http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/pulse/the_match_between_you_and_mit/index.shtml]"The”>www.mitadmissions.org/topics/pulse/the_match_between_you_and_mit/index.shtml) to get a sense of what they’re looking to see in successful applicants.</p>

<p>SAT scores can help earn consideration at MIT but don’t in any way guarantee admission. Give up on this one. (Besides, she was deferred, not rejected. EA deferral is not a “polite reject” at MIT.)</p>

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<p>“Someone from a rough inner city or rural area who showed similar scores would show that they had overcome far more obstacles to demonstrate their abilities and promise, and these are qualities MIT Admissions looks for in applicants.”</p>

<p>Many of the students in this article, including the minorities, went to upper-class or magnet schools. I know because I was rejected from 2 of them several years ago. </p>

<p>As for overcoming obstacles, what about the white girl with the 2230 SAT? She beat cancer for goodness sake! She also played sports, maintained a stellar GPA, and helped others with cancer as a spokesperson for the Make-a-Wish foundation. IMO, she had to overcome a far larger hurdle than the other applicants (including the 2060 and 2140 Ivy admits) with her potentially fatal disease. Despite all of this, she was deferred from Brown. The only inherent difference between her and the Harvard and Yale admits is that she isn’t a URM. </p>

<p>Before anyone starts writing the 2400 Asian gril off as another smart Asian with no personality, can anyone honestly say that they knew a minority with a 2400 who was rejected from MIT? How about 2300? As I said earlier, if a minority, rich or poor, inner-city or gated community, had the same exact stats as the Asian girl, he/she would be admitted without hesitation. </p>

<p>PS: I’m not giving up on this one.</p>

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<p>On the flip side, I will bet you any amount of money that there were almost surely <em>multiple</em> Asians with 2400 SATs who were accepted EA at MIT this year. It’s not the numbers; it’s much more than any of us will be seeing, including essays, recommendations, and what one did with the opportunities one had.</p>

<p>Have fun beating the horse.</p>

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<p>Hepstar, you are evaluating candidates on their SAT scores alone. Highly selective schools do NOT do that. If they did, admissions would be easy. Order the applicant files from highest SATs to the lowest and take X number of files off the top to fill the class. But they do NOT do that at all. Many get in with lower SATs than some kids who were rejected with higher SATs ALL THE TIME no matter their skin color, ethnicity, country of origin, etc. It is NOT a numbers game at the most selective schools in the country. A large number of the applicants have the SATs in the ballpark for that school. Once they have SATs in the ballpark, everything else is going to come into play in evaluating their candidacy. Kids with perfect SATs are rejected ALL the time. Kids who are vals are rejected ALL the time. As well, some with perfect SATs or GPA or rank are also accepted. Nobody with a 2400 SAT is “admitted without hestitation.” Many with wonderful qualifications are rejected all the time. There is nothing unfair about that. You will see numerous examples at top colleges of students accepted with a GPA of 3.8 where some with a 4.0 are rejected. You will see kids with a 2100 SAT get in and someone with a 2400 rejected. Get with the program.</p>

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<p>hepstar. Give up. Or don’t give up. Please yourself. We read the book and we know how it ends.</p>

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<p>Before you start to criticize my argument, how many of you can honestly say that you have heard of a URM who was rejected from MIT or a school like it with perfect/near perfect SAT scores? When someone can name a 2400 URM that was rejected from any school, maybe your argument will have a little more credence.</p>

<p>I am a big believer that college isn’t a numbers game. SATs aren’t everything. When I view the chances threads here on CC, I try to defend the people with sub-2100 SAT scores applying to the Ivies. However, you’re being really naive if you believe that being Asian had nothing to do with the 2400 girl being rejected. </p>

<p>Much of your argument centers around the fact that colleges are looking for unique candidates, not robotic super-geniuses. What about the 2230 girl who was deferred from Brown? She beat cancer, played sports, had a 4.3 GPA, and gave back to the community with her work for Make-a-Wish. She seems like a very strong candidate who excelled academically, despite having a life-threatening illness. If she was a URM, I think she would have been accepted into Brown. Instead, she was deferred. </p>

<p>One final point:</p>

<p>If race has nothing to do with admissions, why are people checking off “black” or “hispanic” on their apps when they might only be 1/4 or 1/8 of that race. My cousin was half-white/half-black. It’s pretty obvious what she put down as her race. She now has a full-scholarship to an academically competitive college, despite the fact that her SAT score was below the school’s average. If she checked off “white” as her race, do you really think that she would’ve gotten a free ride? Her family income is over $100,000, so it isn’t as if she had a tough life or lived in the ghetto (she lives in the suburbs).</p>

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<p>From the MIT decisions thread this year, yes I have Hepstar.</p>

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<p>2390 and Hispanic.</p>

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hepstar, we get it. You don’t like AA and you are convinced Asians are discriminated against in admissions. </p>

<p>I am interested. What uni and what scholarship did she (your no account cousin) receive?</p>

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<p>Hepstar…it is like you are playing armchair stats evaluator. Colleges see way way more than what you view in these profiles and “what are my chances” posts. Even then, a candidate can have ALL the right stuff and still be denied when a college has an admit rate of under 20%. Them’s the facts. Top top top kids can get denied at some of these elite colleges. </p>

<p>By the way, the kids who were deferred…are still in the running. A deferral is not a denial.</p>

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<p>My cousin got a free-ride to Rensselaer Polytech in NY. The school average SAT is 1320 (old scale). She received a 1300. She got a free-ride with a score that’s below the school’s average. An Asian kid I know got a 1420 and didn’t get any schoalrship $, despite the fact that his parents make a lot less $ than my cousin’s. </p>

<p>PS: I’m still waiting to hear about a 2400 URM who was rejected from a top college.</p>

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Yes, and as was pointed out in the follow-up article, she has (SURPRISE!) a twin sister who was also applying to Brown. Katherine Cohen says, “‘I didn’t know she had a twin,’ she said. ‘If they don’t want to be separated, the weaker applicant could have kept her out.’” There are often complications when siblings are applying to the same school in the same year.

Will you PLEASE get your facts straight!! The “2400 Asian girl” you’re so worried about was (let me make this clear) DEFERRED FROM EA INTO RD which is the norm for 90% of the applicants to MIT, and a large percentage of these are eventually admitted. Essentially JUST LIKE the URM cited on P1. Yawn.</p>

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<p>12.5% isn’t exactly a large percentage, but I see your point.</p>