<p>Sheldon:</p>
<p>It does not have to be an internship where you discover the cure for cancer! Any way you can show you used the summer months productively is fine. It can be bagging groceries even, if that's what you need to do to earn steady money. There's always a lot of drama happening in supermarkets. :)</p>
<p>My D was a BWRK and was admitted to YPS -- I also think it was the essays. She didn't have a particularly dramatic life experience to write about -- just wrote in such a way that who she was really came across. She wrote with humor and passion and it's probably what made her application stand out but who knows...</p>
<p>i was a total BWRK...going to princeton</p>
<p>I've taught several BWRKs who have been accepted to Ivies; interestingly, all of them applied early, and all of them were deferred. I've also taught kids who were accepted to Ivies with no ECs at all. That's right--none. These kids were all superb writers with excellent recs. The force of their intellects and their personalities carried the day.</p>
<p>Encouraging thread. Glad I found it. Le bump!</p>
<p>Lots of BWRKS in the top schools. There are just more of them than there is space. The “B” has to be very strong, however. Most of those kids had over 1500 on the 1600 scale with near perfect scores on the SAT2s and very difficult courses. Some of the did not even have to be well rounded to get accepted with that profile.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>My thought also, DM. </p>
<p>The application doesn’t give a prospective student a lot of space to tell the adcoms about themselves in a meaningful way. So it makes sense to pick a couple of activities/qualities and concentrate essays, etc. on those things, even though there are many other activities that are on your plate.</p>
<p>Adcoms see so many applications in one season–if you can get them to remember you as “the blank blanking blank” (lacrosse playing pianist, for example), you’ve done your job.</p>
<p>I think that much of the recent discussions about applicants with “sharp angles” as opposed to well-rounded students is because the perception for so long has been that the successful applicant to the top-ranked schools had to be that well-rounded student who excelled at everything. Now there is the assertion by very selective schools that they are also interested in the applicant with a single strong passion.This was news and much discussed.</p>
<p>This does not mean that the BWRK is no longer in demand, just that there is more than one way in.</p>
<p>–Just the opinion of the Mom of a BWRK who is at his dream school at present.</p>
<p>So, where does “bright” end and “brilliant” begin? Here on CC the answer appears to be somewhere north of the 99.8th percentile. I think of D#2 as bright. She’s only a 97th percentile student. Her sister is MUCH smarter!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Not necessarily true. D is definitely BWRK and got early acceptances from MIT/Caltech.
Awards:
Intel STS Semi
Presidential Scholar Candidate
NMSF (hopefully NMF)
AP National Scholar (After Junior year)</p>
<p>Multiple Teachers Indicated that D is not grade obsessed and has passion for learning. </p>
<p>ECs:
<p>^ I am thinking this is slightly more than merely bright and well-rounded. Does she have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and perfect standardized test scores as well? :)</p>
<p>Seriously though, it’s resumes like this that make all other BWRK kids feel insanely bad about themselves or their parents view them as consummate underachievers based on their potential.</p>
<p>^^^: No D doesn’t have 4.0 unweighted GPA as D is not grade obsessed. She consistently got B+ in AP History classes(Euro, US History, Art History) but still took it all 4 years.</p>
<p>Sheldon, from what you’ve described I think you would qualify as “well-lopsided.” You have explored a wide range of interests, contributed significantly to many, and excelled beyond your school’s boundaries in one. You don’t have to have pursued a single passion obsessively to the exclusion of all others; in fact, those who seem to have done so may find themselves handling interview questions like, “Oh gee, you’re not one of those one-dimensional science kids, are you?”</p>
<p>Being “well-lopsided” worked well for geek_son. He wasn’t interested in the Ivies; he applied and was admitted ED to his first-choice (very selective) Tier 1 LAC. His resume includes all kinds of stuff, but his application spoke loud and clear about what kind of person he is. (Edit: Obviously he had the test scores, GPA, and class rigor to get in as well; ECs alone don’t get most people into highly selective colleges.)</p>
<p>That hints at my suggestion: There is one common thread among your ECs; that, of course, is you. And coincidentally, that’s what Admissions folks are trying to find out about when they read your application. When you write essays, write about who you are and what makes you tick. Use anecdotes from your ECs/academics/life as examples that show who you are.</p>
<p>My son pretty much did the same thing in accelerated math for all four years. We call it the perennial B+ because it sprouts up every year. However, I am unsure that just because you’re not grade obsessed makes an obvious overachiever a BWRK.</p>
<p>POIH, from some of your previous posts, you stated your D was not even in the top 10%, is that correct? If that is then it’s good news for a lot of kids who are so obsessed with ranks.</p>
<p>^^^: Can’t predict about 10% for sure, as school doesn’t rank, but she is not in the top 5% for sure. But you need to take into account the fact that D’s school consistently sends 12 - 15% to top 6 schools(MSCHYP). The current seniors most likely will break that record too this year. Another problem with school GPA is the policy to give honors and APs equal weight. This cause problem with students like D who are AP heavy. The previous post was based on the fact that she was not inducted to Cum Laude society, which in our view was suppose to take the top 10% during the Junior year. But it came to our notice last month that induction was based on referral of the existing members from a list of top 20% of students.</p>