After looking at the seemingly random admissions in highly selective colleges I thought the reason why some very competent applicants get rejected while you have others getting accepted. “very competent” here not only applies to the number-wise stats but also their passion and qualities conveyed through the clubs/activities.
It could’ve been their essays but do you think its because they didnt presented themselves uniquely in their application? (i.e. they didnt successfully show their depth of involvement in clubs, they listed the EC’s in an awkward order, they categorized their clubs and activities in an awkward way in their resumes and etc)
So I’m asking for an advice; how can you improve writing your app.? Effectively show your involvement in ECs and etc.
<p>Can you write your essay and not have to type it?
I'm thinking if you write your essay in neat handwriting, it will put more 'personality' into the application maybe?</p>
<p>College admissions is, to a certain extent, random. Colleges never want to accept too many similar people, and go to great lengths to accomplish that. Where you live, the color of your skin, your parents' income, and stuff like that have a big impact on your chances, even if you present yourself uniquely and have excellent ecs.</p>
<p>i heard of one kid writing his (or maybe it was a her) app in crayon to stanford (or maybe it was princeton or harvard or some other wacky hard to into school) and they got accepted. there are lots of stories like this... well, not toooo many i guess.</p>
<p>btw, sarah, i wrote my app to my number one school in my tidy, but chicken scratch writing and i got waitlisted.... i dunno if that had anything to do with it or not. also, my handwriting is small as some people say that's a sign of intelligence; not that i am saying that i am smart, but i suppose some people would think so.</p>
<p>I'm only in grade 10 but to get rid of the hassle I'll face in senior year, I'm just outlining the possibilities and potential of myself. Its scary isn't it? The pool seems to get more competitive every year; I wonder why? It certainly can't be the increase in international applicants alone.</p>
<p>The average birth rates in most affluent countries these days are in the lines of 1.2 child per family (I think US is an exception though). Imagine in the future the applicant pool will be reduced by half!</p>
<p>You can't even be sure of an admission at any UC schools. I was 'taught' that UC schools vastly base their decision on numbers but it seems that they arent anymore. I can't rely on the statement that they rely more on extracurricular activities either. Most adcoms say that they have strong faith in the fairness of the admission process; I'm guessing that adcoms are like English teachers; some are tough some are moreorless leniant. Its just heartbreaking and discouraging to see 'rejected (nearly) everywhere' posts and I wonder what that 4 year education has meant to them. Sure, there is a life lesson that entails it, however we still need to question whether its fair or just random. </p>
<p>Well Spring Break is nearly over for me and I just realised I haven't done any of my homework! More contribution to this thread is more than welcome. Please share your experience! Thanks.</p>