Emory University help!!?

Question

I recently had a talk with my school counselor and she told me that grades/ SAT scores/ GPA are everything for getting into college. I understand that is true, but something my friend told me got me confused. She told me that one of her cousins turned in her application for Emory University (A "southern ivy league") last year in the beginning of December (1.5 months before deadline) for a regular admission and she had average grades(3.6 GPA, All A's/ B's and one C from Chemistry one semester, and a SAT score of 1900), but she had really good recommendations, and a lot of extracurricular work. But everyone thought that since of her grades/ GPA, she wouldn't get in but she did. But then one of my friends, who had a 3.8 GPA, All A's and a few high B's, and a SAT score of 2100 and sent in her application 2 weeks before the deadline in January, didn't get in.

What I am confused about is how much do grades play a factor at Emory as well as recommendations, time you turn in your application, and extracurricular activities? I am curious because I plan on applying to colleges this December and I have about the same stats as my friends' cousin and I was thinking of applying instead to Oxford at Emory since I felt my stats were too low for Emory.

Answer 1

The time at which you turn in your application has no bearing on your decision as long as you turn it in on time.

Most highly selective colleges receive more qualified applicants than they have room to accept. Consequently, they often turn to differentiating factors like extracurricular activities and essays to determine who gets in. Occasionally, some people get in despite substandard numbers, perhaps because the admissions committee felt that student had something special to offer to the school. In the vast majority of cases, however, admissions to elite schools requires outstanding grades and test scores.  

Answer 2

Your cousin's grades and SAT are both slightly below average for Emory -- but still in the second quartile.  Your friends grades are average for Emory and SAT score is slightly above average.

Emory accepts about 25% of those who apply.  They do not take the to 25% in terms of GPA and SAT.  Instead, they reject those who are not qualified and use other criteria to decide which of the qualified students get in.  Both your cousin and your friend are qualified.  But Emory probably gets three qualified applicants for every slot they have.  They have to reject more qualified applicants than they accept.  

In order to get in, you need to stand out.  The best way to do this is through your admissions essay.  I suspect that your cousin had a much better essay than your friend.

I don't know if Emory waits until all applications are in or if they have a rolling admissions policy.  If they have a rolling admissions, they may hav ebeen caught off guard by the demand for slots, and might not have saved enough for those applying late.

This years crop of seniors will be the largest ever for applying to universities.  The lesson you should take away from your cousin and friend is not that you should apply to lesser schools -- but that you should apply early.