That is, unless your son has that magic combination of freaky shortness, lousy grades, and great, great shoe connections.

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Once we get past our school years with standardized tests and regular percentage grades, we emerge into the adult world where, to a great extent, we get to determine what is important to us.

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There are lots of great ingredients of course, and the top schools will have the pick of applicants with stellar grades, GMAT scores in the 90th percentile, and scads of corporate achievements and community awards.

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