I don’t think well-rounded or spikey kids can count on anything in terms of admission at very selective schools. I’m guessing those colleges want both kinds of kids, but maybe the spikey ones who also are top-notch in other areas will get into more schools on their list than the “average excellent” kids. My S19 would be considered well-rounded with no hooks and no major awards. He had a number of strengths as an applicant, we put together a good application, and I thought his essays were mostly very good (not reviewed by any outside person), but there was nothing that made us think he had a great chance at any reach schools. As expected, he received a number of wait list offers and got into a few great state flagship universities. However, he also got acceptances at a couple of selective LACs and three top 20 universities (including one Ivy).