<p>I think everybody is probably right…but hold on just a second. Does this student have some extremely unique talent that sets her apart from others? Is there some special reason her grades have been low (illness, for example), that she has overcome and is now getting top grades? You have to know something about the person before you can make a categorical statement–although it’s certainly true that a person with low grades, low scores, and nothing else special is not going to get into Yale by chance, or based on an essay that impressed somebody.</p>