<p>mcqdeltat and Rhett Butler–Grades are what put you in the game at an elite school. They are the most important thing in that if you do not have good grades, you are out of the running. Extracurriculars are the most important thing once you’ve established that you have the baseline academic credentials. Extracurriculars determine who gets into elite schools (along with essays and reccommendations, but they’re probably the primary thing).</p>
<p>Rhett–Can you get into Yale with “normal grades”? That depends on what you consider normal and whether you are an underrepresented minority, an athletic recruit or have some other hook. Someone posted in another thread that even with a strong hook, it is virtually impossible to get into Yale without a 3.6 unweighted. I totally agree and add that the only people getting in with 3.6s have tremendous hooks.</p>