Obviously, at the same time, if she had maintained those high grades you're talking about and she came from a family that could just pay tuition and she had the SAT scores to get in, acceptance would have basically been a given. As the child of upper class parents, I had no trouble getting into schools based on my good grades, and my SAT score, and I didn't have a sob story, and I never participated in a single extracurricular activity. What they really like, is when you're hallway worthy and you can pay in full.