What do you do when a large chunk of the people that apply have a 4.0? How do you determine which person who got a 4.0 gets into your school. I know quite a few people who had a 4.0 + Close to perfect sat score + pretty good extra curricular not get in. If you are Indian getting into an ivy league school is largely luck. Does the admissions officer reading you essay like what you wrote. Does one of your extra circulars stand out.