<p>I understand that colleges(especially top colleges) value talent very highly in the application review ---- but how can they assess somebody talent? I kind of dont need to worry so much about this because my colleges(art schools) require art portfolios, but what about other kids applying for... maybe engineering, or economics? </p>
<p>I am just wondering cause I was looking at common data set info for some colleges and the "Talent" section was marked as either "Very important/important" in the application review.
Thanks! </p>
<p>They use awards that you’ve earned - for example for engineering one could use science fair awards to prove talent. Also, recommendations can help with this too, as well as essays to a certain extent.</p>
<p>Award, participation in ec, essay, etc. Many ways to show it.
Teacher recoms</p>
<p>Talent is probably more important for those areas like the arts or theater or music where grades don’t really reflect ability. Engineering, not so much, grades and test scores are just fine there. It’s a mistake to think of the CDS as a checklist - you don’t have to have everything on there, it’s just that if they are looking at something for a particular applicant, this is how they’re going to look at it. Everything on the CDS is not applicable to everyone.</p>
<p>Very perceptive question. The most efficient way to assess talent (in any area) is to rely on trusted third parties to judge and vouch for it (e.g. if you played Carnegie Hall, you must have been assessed and judged as a top performer by those who know). That is why it is important (whenever you want to prove talent) that you submit it for critical judgment at the highest level possible. The larger the pool of applicants, the better. Therefore, schools look for affirmation by well-known accreditation- one example is national math competitions at multiple levels (some tech school applications ask for your scores on the AMC or AIME if you took those national-level competitions). Winning international competitions or spots on teams is better than national, is better than regional, is better than state, is better than city, is better than school, etc. Also, all US schools look at the “whole person,” so talent for an engineering application includes art, music, etc.</p>