<p>Basically its the title. If candidate has the grades, the tests scores and the teacher recommendations can he still make it into HYPSM without amazing Extracurriculars. It seems like everyone packages themselves now a days, doing trips to to the DR to help little kids, and everything else. I mean are we honestly past the days where a smart and motivated kid can get in and not spend all his time making his extracurriculars look spectacular? I have to assume that colleges understand that a lot of it is just BS and HS kids do it all for the application. Or maybe I am living in a dream world, what do you think?</p>
<p>Based on what I've seen, you'd be surprised how often top colleges are hoodwinked into these packages kids create. </p>
<p>It's pretty sickening.</p>
<p>@Igellar: I absolutely agree,
I know a kid who completely falsified his app and got into HYPS but not the M, lol! His uncle was the director of a chinese volunteer organization, and guess what, he wrote that he went to china for 2 months and helped poor kids, he never went, i was with him at lacrosse camp that summer. Or about that time he had a internship at a London stockbrokerage company sophmore year.... his dad's best friend is the regional director of that company.....interesting....</p>
<p>lol my point being that some of the kdis who actually work hard and try their best are being overshadowed by kids who have better connections and falsified data.
sorry for the rant. Thats my take.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Based on what I've seen, you'd be surprised how often top colleges are hoodwinked into these packages kids create. </p>
<p>It's pretty sickening.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>QFE</p>
<p>I do not like the people that find it necessary to just base everything they do not on their own interests but on what will look most appealing on a college application...I guess its not really their fault though, its just the hyper-competitive world we live in....We had one girl demand a teacher to redo a spanish oral exam because it had been administrated on two days and she felt that the students who had taken it on the other day had received an unfair advantage over her....This was not a one time thing, unfortunately....Grade-grubbing like this allowed her to get valedictorian....She's enrolled at Yale....</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but the difference between a 3.8 and 4.0, or a 2100 and a 2400, are not as large as people think. A 3.8/2100 can be much more impressive than a 4.0/2400 if they show they have passions and talents. Most people DON'T falsify their applications. When you get to school, you'll see that.</p>