You said, that the main aspect it's a Grades. And I think that you're right. But what should international applicants do, when they want to apply to college? The colleges in US ask them to send transcripts, with the grades. But in some, and most countries, there are no transcripts. The only thing that students have is a School leaving certificate. (Attestat). It contains the list of subjects that the student had, and the grades like: "5", or "4" and etc. I'm form Mongolia, but I finished school in Russia. I have a silver medal for outstanding learning performance. It means that I have only one subject that has mark "4", all the rest marks are "5". Having that medal is very prestigious in Russia. Do the admission staff understand that kind of thing? And about the extracurricular activities: of course colleges wants to have a students with unique and interesting hobbies. But still, in my opinion, the colleges just wants to have a students that can cover the expense of study. And if you can do this, and your grades are not very good, but not too bad. It's all doesn't matter. You will probable be accepted. And all this talks about if you have a great grades and have interesting activities you will be accepted are not suitable for international students.

not all colleges look at the grades they also look at the extracurricular activities.

yeahno. i have friends who are living proof that grades aren't everything, or close to it. if that was the case, than all of us with 4.0+ GPA's would be in Ivy Leagues and UC's instead of lunkhead athletes taking spots from smart kids when they really don't deserve them.

i'm not hating on smart athletes either; just the ones who wouldn't be in college without the aid of sports.

mean, but true.

Great to hear from everyone, and sorry I haven't commented back sooner. I'll try to get to to pretty much everything that has been raised in one long response:
First off, thanks Andrew (who suggested I get "bent") - I will endeavor to bend appropriately.
Nanibabe - yes, I'm fairly full of myself, but also painfully honest. Unfortunately, most of the people who dispense admissions advice are either making $$$ off you or have no idea how the process actually works, other than random observations on who has gotten into some schools, having no idea how that actually happended.
Wang - not sure how I couldpossibly have MORE confidence.
qbntoots - no, YOU are. So there.
John - Grades are even more important for transfer students
Chris - sorry for the typo, although it was the Fastweb writers quoting me and not my writing, and it looks like those same faceless editors heard you and corrected their error - so thanks!
IB is an international baccalaureate program or courses - comparable for most schools to Advanced Placement, but with a different approach and, some argue, world view
Casey - testing is only useful if it tests the right stuff - unfortunately the tests we currently use are far less predictive than grades
Lauren/Island lover/Mari/Jakob and many others - You are SO right. The admissions office is inherently flawed. Although better than the tests we use, grades (and remember, I don't just mean GPA, but the whole academic record) are not very predictive of performance in college. Street smarts would be WAY better - if only we had a way to measure that. Worse, you don't get any grades on your involvement, so its virtually impossible for colleges to distinguish well (although we try) between the student who works, who is involved in 20 clubs, who is the president of the class, a varsity athlete, a virtuoso musician, etc, etc. I'm not saying it's RIGHT, but it is a fact that grades (again, whole record, not GPA) are BY FAR the most important factor in admission decisions. Everywhere.
That being said, of course there are exceptions. You will find great athletes and musicians being admitted outside of this formula. Same goes in many cases to legacies and donors. And yes, Thomas, you can alwasy find exceptions, but don't bring me an exception just on a GPA - it's NOT just about GPA, but about the whole academic record.
Kelsey - Despite the catchy title, it's clearly not ALL about grades - but grades are the biggest factor in making most admissions decisions. Now here's the really important part...that does not have ANY bearing, nor is meant to, on success in life. Getting admitted to a college is going through a process - don't let that become a substitute for your value or success - that's giving college admissions officers WAY too much credit.
And yes, Kelsey, I am annoying. Often. But also right. Likely these two issues are related.

Keep those comments coming! Be seeing you.

Dean Flagel

Grades are important but also attendance and punctuality as well. College admissions should not be based on grades but in actions.

Grades arent everything colleges want a well rounded student. If your grades are not spectacular its ok as long as you can show steady improvement on you transcript. no one wants some one whos just going to study all day and not take on the real world.

Dean Flagel is so annoying. Yes, grades are important, but other things matter as well.