Reply to Turns out, Harvard students aren’t that smart after all

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I originally used the phrase 'relatively mediocre' and was told it was grammatically awful. My point is and always has been that among the athletes who play college sports, these guys aren't that special so why are you treating them as such. And your point reinforces that. Being in the 93rd percentile is nice, but should you be rewarded with automatic entry into a college with a sub 5% acceptance rate? [/quote]

Spin all you want, and grammar notwithstanding, we all know what "mediocre" means, and it makes you wrong on the facts.  Also, that 7% is for all colleges, div I, II & III, and the D1 ivies get way better the bottom of that percentile.  So yes, I think if they have that special skill, and are in the "academically qualified" bucket, Harvard should be allowed to admit them if Harvard wants to.

[quote=Anonymous]Again, if you showed up with 93rd percentile SAT scores, what do you think the chances are of getting admitted? [/quote]

That 93rd percentile is for all colleges, and if you understand even basic math that would mean being in the 93rd percentile academically would get me in contention for 93% of the seats at all colleges.  It's so, so simple.

[quote]I honestly don't care if Harvard prefers athletes. They can do what they want. Put those people shouldn't look down their noses at anyone else who gets an admissions advantage because Harvard has determined it is something they value. They didn't 'earn' it nor did they deserve admission. The reality is that Harvard decided that they have a need, they fill it and the honest truth is that without it, they probably wouldn't have gotten in. [/quote]

That is true for every admittee at every selective college on the planet.  They have some thing or combination of things the college wants.

[quote]On the legacy point, you keep asserting it's true, but that's not an argument. It's a theory. Harvard might think it's true, but counterfactuals exists that at least call that into question. [/quote]

I am not claiming it works - and in fact I am not a fan of legacy admissions and the policies effectiveness can be debated (see link below).  But this is why the colleges say they do it, and I think [b]they get to decide and not you or I[/b].

https://theconversation.com/why-do-colleges-use-legacy-admissions-5-questions-answered-169450

If William Fitzsimmons believes that legacy preferences are “essential to Harvard’s well-being", then Harvard should use them. If Logan Powell, believes that legacy admissions are very involved in mentoring and internship experiences for current students, then Brown should use them. And so on.[/quote]

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