<p>The problem is that “in-the-know” students cannot really know why they were accepted or rejected. Only the adcoms know! In addition, it is good to remember that applications convey personal and individual information. What might be good and work well for Little Suzy might not work for Little Sammy. All “we” know is nothing else than a tapestry weaved from multiple anecdotes and a bit of common sense. Fwiw, some people have done really well by sending a detailed activity list at schools that frown on the practice --read Stanford. But then, “we” will never know if they were accepted in spite of it or … if the list helped. There was a famous story about a (silly) essay about tortillas submitted to GBS that prompted hundreds of copycats. Years later, the adcoms shared that the applicant was accepted despite the really bad essay. </p>
<p>Caveat emptor! </p>