Basically, if your family name isn't in that list, you have a massive reduction in your probability of being accepted, regardless of merit. If your name is in that list, then you likely will be accepted regardless of merit.
>and it's largely due to things like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Register
These are very likely not true especially the second part but since specific ethnicity is not tracked it's much harder to disprove. But I would wager this is is not true at all.
They probably reject way more than 50% of the valedictorian/800 SAT applicants they have.
Unless you are super-special, you need to be at that level and be lucky
But as you say, you need to not only have the credentials, something else that sets you apart, and even then the Teela Brown luck gene. When you're being that selective, there's no way that you're realistically finding strong signals in all but the most exceptional circumstances to admit specific individuals.
(And things have only gotten more competitive. I would be shocked if I would get into my undergrad school today.)
(As he dumps half of the hundreds of résumés into the recycle bin)
“Unlucky people don’t work here”
Of course those with degrees from Ivys and other selective schools don't want to acknowledge this - it devalues their degree. Same for those who aspire to attend these schools - whether they have an 'unfair' advantage or not.
And yes test scores aren't the best metric for "talent" but it is one of the better signals you get in a college application.
They're not numerous enough to change any GPA/SAT averages, but they likely pay many times more in tuition & donations than the rest of their class put together. That's why they're the main focus of these places, even if their numbers are small.
