> 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 tha

> 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”.