<p>OMG, I am staring at all this, and you know what, everyone has the same stuff as everyone else. No wonder colleges cant decide who to choose, its because the same people who have national merit, also have 200+ hours of community service, top 10% GPA and like perfect SAT, am I catching the gist of this process?</p>
<p>I agree. Unfortunately, I don't know how to make myself stand out...and I DON'T have perfect everything.</p>
<p>as i have emphasized constantly throughout other threads, you do not need perfect SATs and 4.0 GPA to get into even the very best schools. just check up the official decisions thread for harvard class of 2012. i think even a guy with a 1860 SAT score got in.</p>
<p>there is only one thing that makes you a successful applicant: uniqueness. you need to stand out from the rest of the crowd. use your essays to show that your experiences make you a unique person. do the ECs which reflect your talents and passions.</p>
<p>i know that it can be a bit disillusioning looking at those perfect SAT scores and numerous ECs, but many of those ppl will get rejected because they fail to stand out as different.</p>