Hey all,
I have recently been published in the Concord Review, also garnering the Ralph Waldo Emerson prize, and I was wondering if this will be viewed very favorably by the Ivy Leagues?
Thanks and looking forward to your responses!
It should be viewed as a positive achievement by all colleges & universities. While it will not assure an offer of admission to any school, it should help.
It isn’t a spike, but it is a worthy achievement.
Thanks both for the replies!
Groundwork2022, just curious, what then will be considered a spike in the field of history (particular academic research) and literature?
OP - The profile you present of your time-in, devotion to, and honors and achievements in, any particular area will indicate the depth and breadth of your commitment, interest and talent in that area.
As such, the publication can help to show that you, the candidate, are spike-y, but not catapult your application to the top of the heap.
Continued success to you.
WaitingtoExhale is correct. A spike isn’t one achievement but a collection of achievements and efforts over time (often a time period stretching well before the high school years) that show depth and near mastery.
The idea of a spike is overused by high schoolers, who often confuse it with merely being pointy. It is semantics, though. Colleges will recognize a true spike, but most of their applicants and acceptances are well-rounded or pointy.
I think there may be a misunderstanding of “spike” in admissions terminology. When people refer to applicants having a spike or being spikey, it refers to applicants who have shown commitment and multiple distinguished accomplishments in a few areas rather than having good (even superior) accomplishments in a number of areas - the rounded applicant.
One accomplishment rarely if ever makes an applicant spikey. Some accomplishments/recognition will be more impressive than others by virtue of the quality of the competitive body and the difficulty of the competition itself. To be considered spikey in the field of history and literature, the indicias would include whether you have published works (the more prestigious the publication, the better) where you are a listed author, awards/recognition in the field (the higher the level of recognition, the better), work with scholars in the field, active participation/leadership roles in relevant organizations. I am sure there may be other factors, but the point is to show a specialized interest involving significant effort, dedication and notable accomplishments.
^^Great info, @BKSquared. That is a tough level to arrive at, then.
Let’s get back to being pointy, for those who are pointy. (Is it too late?)
That is why only 90% of all applicants are rejected, and the applicants are almost all well above average.
It isn’t that one needs to be that good to succeed in these colleges. It is that there are so many applicants, and so many are good, that these colleges start looking for factors that make applicants stand out in one way or another. Furthermore, when there are 35,000 applicants, even factors which are rare appear in larger numbers than can be accepted.
There are enough possibilities for students to have most levels of single spikes that having one is not enough for an applicant to stand out among at least 5,000 who have a spike and are applying to that particular college. An exception is if that spike is a serious one. So a top athlete nationally, a winner of a award at a level that only one person a year gets it or equivalent awards can be enough.
So an Emerson prize from the Concord review is a great prize, but not enough, on its own, to get you accepted. It could cause an otherwise excellent profile to stand out among the hundreds of other excellent profiles. It is likely on par with winning a national prize in mathematics or science.
Congratulations, though. Whether it helps you get accepted to an Ivy or not it is an amazing achievement!
Seriously, forget about whether it helps you get accepted to a popular college, and just enjoy the fact that the excellence of your writing has been recognized.
PS. if you wrote well enough to get the Emerson Prize from the Concord Review, your application essay will also likely be brilliant.
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Thanks all for the valuable input, and MWolf for the compliments! 