5 ms·

> that legacy students had both higher SATs and better GPAs Then they can get in without legacy admission.

JimtheCoder 3y ago
Isn't admissions into the Ivies mostly a crapshoot after you reach a certain GPA/SAT threshold? You have to show you are unique through essays and ECs, and that you will be an asset to the university community? Or that you have chosen good parents?
- libraryatnight 3y ago
  Curious about this too. Sort of a popular logic I've never sincerely questioned that most people applying to these schools have the test scores/GPAs etc so you're sort of lost in a sea of 'excellence'. (Only put quotes because it would only be one narrow definition - I was excellent at Unreal Tournament, setting up LAN parties, and eating Jack tacos).
  - csa 3y ago
    > I was excellent at Unreal Tournament, setting up LAN parties Interestingly, with good enough scores and grades and a slight spin on this skill set (e.g., setting up large scale LAN tournaments, being world ranked in UT, etc.), you would distinguish yourself from the “sea of excellence” (you are correct that scores and grades are a narrow and incomplete definition by Ivy admissions standards).
- csa 3y ago
  > Isn't admissions into the Ivies mostly a crapshoot after you reach a certain GPA/SAT threshold? In general, it is not a crapshoot. There are some things that are very doable by any reasonable Ivy admit that will set them apart. Cal Newport has written quite a bit about this, and I agree with most (if not all) of what he says. It may seem like a crap shoot, because some/many folks don’t realize what it is about a successful admit’s application that sets them apart. Fwiw, it’s not “better SAT and GPA” or “one more extracurricular”.
rednerrus 3y ago
Why not offer them a fast track if they are actually qualified?
xhkkffbf 3y ago
> Then they can get in without legacy admission. Not necessarily. Apparently there are a bunch separate pools: one for the athletes, one for the professors' kids, one for the orchestra etc. If the kid is merely a legacy with good SATs, they're not eligible for the other pools.
- michaelt 3y ago
  Harvard has 23,000 students - I find it hard to believe the orchestra is more than 1% of that.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    Aren’t we talking about undergrad admissions selection process? That’s a little under 2K per year.

Isn't admissions into the Ivies mostly a crapshoot after you reach a certain GPA/SAT threshold? You have to show you are unique through essays and ECs, and that you will be an asset to the university community? Or that you have chosen good parents?

libraryatnight 3y ago
Curious about this too. Sort of a popular logic I've never sincerely questioned that most people applying to these schools have the test scores/GPAs etc so you're sort of lost in a sea of 'excellence'. (Only put quotes because it would only be one narrow definition - I was excellent at Unreal Tournament, setting up LAN parties, and eating Jack tacos).
- csa 3y ago
  > I was excellent at Unreal Tournament, setting up LAN parties Interestingly, with good enough scores and grades and a slight spin on this skill set (e.g., setting up large scale LAN tournaments, being world ranked in UT, etc.), you would distinguish yourself from the “sea of excellence” (you are correct that scores and grades are a narrow and incomplete definition by Ivy admissions standards).
csa 3y ago
> Isn't admissions into the Ivies mostly a crapshoot after you reach a certain GPA/SAT threshold? In general, it is not a crapshoot. There are some things that are very doable by any reasonable Ivy admit that will set them apart. Cal Newport has written quite a bit about this, and I agree with most (if not all) of what he says. It may seem like a crap shoot, because some/many folks don’t realize what it is about a successful admit’s application that sets them apart. Fwiw, it’s not “better SAT and GPA” or “one more extracurricular”.

rednerrus 3y ago

Why not offer them a fast track if they are actually qualified?

xhkkffbf 3y ago

> Then they can get in without legacy admission. Not necessarily. Apparently there are a bunch separate pools: one for the athletes, one for the professors' kids, one for the orchestra etc. If the kid is merely a legacy with good SATs, they're not eligible for the other pools.

michaelt 3y ago
Harvard has 23,000 students - I find it hard to believe the orchestra is more than 1% of that.
- sokoloff 3y ago
  Aren’t we talking about undergrad admissions selection process? That’s a little under 2K per year.