How important is being "well-rounded"?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Schools:
MIT (EA)
Harvard
Princeton
UChicago
Duke
CalTech
UNC</p>

<p>White male</p>

<p>School: Homeschooled since middle of 11th grade... before then I was at a public school</p>

<p>GPA: 4.00 unweighted</p>

<p>12th grade classes:
EPGY AP English Language and Composition
AP Spanish Language with a tutor
Self-studied AP Computer Science AB
Plus (all studied at local university UNC-Chapel Hill):
Differential Manifolds
Differential Geometry
Commutative Algebra
Algebraic Geometry
Measure and Integration
Functional Analysis</p>

<p>SATs:
750 (CR), 800 (Math), 800 (Writing), 2350 total
800 Math 2
800 Physics</p>

<p>APs: (All 5s, Physics B, Calculus BC, and World History were self-studied)
Physics B
Physics C (Mechanics and E+M)
World History
US History
Environmental Science
Chemistry
Calculus BC
Statistics</p>

<p>ECs/Awards:
21 on USAMO ----> MOsP Participant
High scoring member of national champion ARML A team
6th place out of all MOsP Participants on Asia-Pacific Math Olympiad
High placing individual on a bunch of smaller math contests (Mandelbrot, HMMT, etc.)
Member of 1st place teams on bunches of smaller math contests (HMMT, Duke Math meet, etc.)
Coach of local middle school MathCounts team
Selected to participate in the Putnam this year for my local university
US National Chemistry Olympiad Participant
National Merit Semifinalist
Currently doing some math research with a professor (I sent a brief description with my application but we don't have enough to publish yet) </p>

<p>Other stuff:
I started homeschooling so I could be more flexible in my schedule and take more math classes. My essays are probably mediocre and I'm not sure about my teacher recommendations either. My question is whether math alone is enough to get me into the top places, or if some of them are looking for more well-rounded students with other sorts of ECs. Will being homeschooled hurt me?</p>

2

<p>I would say with those stats you will probably get into most of the schools on your list. However, your EC's do seem to be very focused on maths. Do you have any other interests such as music or sports that would show them that you do have a life outside of maths? If so, make sure to add them to your application. Also, spend as much time as necessary to get your essays and interview techniques up to the level of the rest of your application. </p>

<p>Good luck to you. You are an exceptional applicant!</p>

3

<p>Schools don't look for "well rounded" students. They put together a "well rounded" class of diverse students with a wide range of talents and interests. Your passion for math will serve you well in your applications. Stanford likes outstanding homeschooled students, so you might want to apply there as well.</p>

4

<p>You're not really homeschooled, more like you started college already. Anyway, you should get in everywhere. menloparkmom is right about well-roundedness.</p>