How much do grades matter to ivy leagues for national caliber recruits?

Having gone to Princeton and coached at Cornell, I can tell you they matter a lot. 1) You better have good test scores and 2) Great grades.

It does depend on how badly they want you - so there would be a difference between say Chris Derrick and the 30th kid at Foot Locker or between an 8:50 junior and 9:05 junior - but ultimately the admissions people decide, not the coaches.

I've seen kids get rejected from Cornell get into Harvard. I've heard of a double legacy, footlocker top 10 person with great SATs not get in as well.

If you want me to analyze your odds, please email me at

robertjohnson@letsrun.com

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I love to help people in the college admissions process and feel like I've got a great idea how it works.

rojo wrote:

I love to help people in the college admissions process and feel like I've got a great idea how it works.

How it works:

1) be a trustfunder

2) have daddy's crony network make a few calls

3) don't worry if you are illiterate; you can get "help" with the essays

rojo wrote:

If you want me to analyze your odds, please email me at

robertjohnson@letsrun.com

.

I love to help people in the college admissions process and feel like I've got a great idea how it works.

A handsome offer, rojo, and I hope that students and their families will take advantage of it. People, it doesn't matter how the *BrosJo* got into their colleges; what matter is YOU...and I think Robert has an excellent grasp of the process.

In particular, his example of dinged-at-Cornell/accepted-at-Harvard really resonates with me, and probably with anyone else who's done some Ivy recruiting. Much depends on each program's needs (immediate and longer-term), academic fit, and interest demonstrated by both coach and applicant.

That last point is important, because coaches love to "boost" the applications of academically-qualified students who apply early-decision/-action...the coaches know that the limited number of "pushes" that they get to use probably won't be wasted on an ED/EA kid.

But there are plenty of other factors at work, and I'd urge kids to take up Robert's offer.

OK, this is the Lets Run message board, so you have to sift the gems like Rojo's offer from the sheer idiocy of a post like Rojon's. I hope young people don't think Rojon's spin has any basis in fact.

Look at the acceptance rates of the Ivies, Duke, Stanford and MIT. They are ridiculously low.

My kid was an unusual student. As in really unusual. Perfect score on the SAT's and SAT II's, all A's 4.3 something GPA, 11 5's on the AP exams, BC calc in 9th grade, senior college level math at a local university in 12th grade, tons of accomplishments, and could write exceedingly well. I could never figure it out - surely due to nothing I did.

And guess what? We were sweating college admission at the schools I list above (except for one, where my wife and I attended, which was an advantage). One would think admission would be assured, but no, while she got in most of the schools listed, she did not get in two of them - a good thing, in retrospect, because it was the first time my kid ever really heard no from someone.

The competition is insane, and it is now global. Rojo likely has remarkable insight (this having been said, doing well academically at a state flagship can be a really smart thing, especially as the price tag for an Ivy qualified student may be remarkably low).

Remember there is over qualifying, although this is slightly uncommon. None of the colleges will care as much if you say, cure cancer, or invent something, and still want to go to college.

completely wrong wrote:

OK, this is the Lets Run message board, so you have to sift the gems like Rojo's offer from the sheer idiocy of a post like Rojon's. I hope young people don't think Rojon's spin has any basis in fact.

My kid was an unusual student.

And guess what? We were sweating college admission at the schools I list above (except for one, where my wife and I attended, which was an advantage).

Actually, rojo has first hand knowledge that rojon's spin is completely factual.

Rojon should add to the list of the best way to get into a great school: be a double legacy like your kid.

completely wrong wrote:

OK, this is the Lets Run message board, so you have to sift the gems like Rojo's offer from the sheer idiocy of a post like Rojon's. I hope young people don't think Rojon's spin has any basis in fact.

Completely Wrong is a complete idiot if he thinks that the "old boy" network isn't the only guaranteed way to get into an Ivy. And he took full advantage of it when his kid checked the little mommy went here box and daddy went here box.

Rojo might or might not know how to fashion an application for a regular smart kid with no political connections, but should anybody take advice about their future from a guy who can't differentiate 'there/they're/their' or 'its/it's'?

Harvard admitted 2048 to the class of 2018. Only 1662 showed up. That is why completely wrong's daughter did not get accepted everywhere.

Rojon is correct that of the 2048 somewhere around 10% bought their way in. So what??? Compared to the vast majority of other things in this world, a 90% meritocracy is utopian.

Rojo's offer is amazing. Not because he is good enough at it to charge money but because he offered it free. He obviously has a perspective that few have. Thanks Rojo

play a different sport. i know of hockey players (future pros) that got into Harvard with very mediocre to poor grades. yes, i know, shocking.