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Post being replied to

The bell-shaped curve by SixShutouts66

TexFrancisco and ufl, among others, made the point that the applicant pool resembles a standard distribution or bell-shaped curve. That is, if you assigned each applicant a numerical grade based on weighted scores for various qualities (grades, test scores, references, essay, outside activities) and plotted the results (score vs number of students with that score), you see a familiar distribution.

What this means is that it's easier to identify the top and bottom of the applicant pool, but it's often hard to distinguish the other applicants with all the variables involved (added prep time, bad day at the SAT, who looks at the application in admissions, added help with essay, BS ability).

As my distinguished colleagues, who didn't have parents slip a Jack Daniels to boards Ops to be able to post, point out that other factors come into play for the rest of the class. Legacy is one, but so are racial and gender diversity, geography, probably balance between the majors.

For me the issue occurs if the schools selects people outside that range of scores to fill spots.