Perfection

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>Have you ever seen a thread on CC like this?</p>

<p>please feel sorry for me
I was rejected by Andover
I mean, I had a 99% SSAT
I applied for ninth grade
I had straight A's
I took: AP Calculus BC, APUSH, AP Euro, AP Economics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP Latin, AP Lit & Comp, AP English Language, and AP Chinese receiving a "5" on each exam
I had a 2400 on the SAT in sixth grade (Took it for CTY)
I played five sports at the varsity level
I was going to be recruited by a D1 school for sports
I had sung the lead in several operas
I had played at Carnegie Hall multiple times
During the summer of seventh grade, I cured cancer, AIDS, and the common cold
I entered my essays into an international competition and they won
My recommenders worshiped me. I'm serious, they literally prayed to me every night before they went to bed
My interviewer asked to adopt me
Before M10, I thought I was God incarnate
But I applied for FA
I was rejected
I know I got rejected because of my financial need!</p>

<p>Though I'm sure the majority of these "horror stories" about perfect FA applicants being rejected (or any perfect applicant for that matter) are grossly exaggerated, I think that there is some truth to a few of them. I don't think admissions officers like seeing "picture perfect" kids who are good at everything, and have no weaknesses.I bet they want real people with a diverse set of talents. If I was an admission officer and a kid applied to my school who was "picture perfect" and spent all his/her time in ECs, I'd wonder, "Does this kid have a life? When is the last time this kid has gone to the movies?" But, I'm not an admission officer. But, I have a feeling that you don't have to be "picture perfect" to get into prep schools, despite what posters like the one I imitated would have you believe.</p>

2

<p>I doubt everything you are saying is 100% true</p>

3

<p>I agree.</p>

<p>I think that sometimes, not all the time, the extreme perfectionist-personality people tend to get caught up in the details, thus not being able to look at the big picture and accomplish big things in life. They lose sight of true passion and purpose.</p>

<p>I don’t think admissions people are looking for perfection–they’re looking for one thing that truly stands out. Could be just a gut feeling, an interesting extracurricular, character trait, or exceptional ability. They’re looking to see something in you that’s special, and perfection does not guarantee that.</p>

<p>Perfection is boring.</p>

4

<p>Do you mean the first part where I talk about the person who plays 5 varsity sports? Lol, that’s not meant to be true, that’s an example of a person who thought they were perfect, but was rejected.</p>

5

<p>But what if the thing that stands out is how incredibly well-rounded an applicant is?
Or what about those applicants that don’t have that one “special thing” about them but still manage to get into the top prep schools?</p>

6

<p>ayiieee. CC is seriously scaring me in terms of the insane people who apply for these schools now.</p>

7

<p>Who said AO’s are or need to be perfect? They do not have a crystal ball to see the future. I am sure that they sometimes admit bad applicants and reject potentially good ones.</p>