<p>compmom,
As the parent of the kid who tried radically new things after applications went in, the opportunities he seized second semester senior year weren’t available before that time. (I’d love to talk about them, but they would be personally identifying. And yes, there were a couple of colleges that would have liked to hear about what he was doing, but S refused to disclose.) Throughout HS, he participated in a number of wonderful activities – based on interests that he began pursuing in elementary school, in some cases. He was involved with them, not for the sake of college apps, but because he loves them. (He is still continuing to work in college on research started in HS, as well as other activities begun in junior HS and HS.) </p>
<p>This is a kid who does not do anything unless he loves it – trust me! 
He did not have a pristine transcript – which was fine with some schools, not with others. His transcript <em>did</em> reflect extreme academic risk-taking, with the general result that he nailed the toughest courses and let the boring ones slide.</p>
<p>He had a wonderful quirky list of colleges, was not searching for prestige, and he got into exactly the ones where he would thrive. By December of senior year, S did not care what colleges thought – he had already gotten acceptances at his #1 and #3 choices.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me.</p>