I’ve heard that most top colleges and ivies want to hear that you excel in one specific domain rather than attempt to be a “Jack of all trades.” How true is this? Does it hold true with West Point and the other Service Academies?
That is a mischaracterization of what elite schools look for. Let’s start with what they don’t want. They don’t want students (or their parents) signing up for a bunch of ECs to look good on applications. They want students who are most likely to do amazing things in the world once they get out of school.
That means that they want students who show signs they may be one of those people while in high school. Typically that means they have involved themselves in activities that are meaningful to them because they are meaningful to them and not because they look good for college applications. Typically admissions officers can tell by the achievements that student’s show with their involvement in those activities. It is hard to have notable achievements in all kinds of activities. More often, student interest targets specific areas or topics. I’ve known a few students who had ECs across loads of areas and their achievements were amazing in each-like national awards on English essays/poetry, national history awards and publications in a student oriented journal, Intel award and a varsity sport. Those students get offers from places like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc. I would assume they would be attractive to the service academies if those students were interested in attending.
Bottom line: It is no problem being “Jack of all trades” but you must also be “master of each”.
@lostaccount By far the best response I have ever gotten. Thank you so much, you have cleared a great deal of confusion in my college search, thank you so much!
The Service Academies are looking for very involved, well-rounded candidates. They are specifically looking for candidates who excel academically and are seen as leaders by the leadership positions they hold. They like to see varsity athletes (there are some exceptions to this) who are in the top 10% of their class academically, with higher than average test scores.