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..."X years advanced in the math curriculum with high stats etc" describes the majority of applicants to Harvard and elite schools.
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<p>At MIT, one fourth of the enrolled students had 5 or more years of math in high school. For applicants the figure is lower, and only a fraction of that (at any school) are bona fide math studs. </p>
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Many of the national "academic" honors (Siemen's-Westinghouse top 5, Intel/STS Finalist...even top 10) are no longer hooks.
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<p>Where does that idea come from? The number of top-tier awards per year is fixed, while the applicant pool keeps growing. Although the depth of the competition has increased for all those honors (so universities need not look only to the top 10 to find amazing candidates), the value of actually reaching the top 10 has increased for the same reason, and there are fewer fluke winners. </p>
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Schools like Harvard need qualitative evaluation tools for applicants.
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<p>And here we were, thinking that they just admit by SAT score. </p>
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I doubt that Marite's son's essays were the standard self-celebratory essay. They probably very clearly illustrated that Marite's son would be an interesting person to be with, and would be interested in learning about, from and with other people. It grabbed the attention of an admissions officer -- it wasn't "standard" fare
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<p>It's unclear how you know all that. Marite's kid, it seems from her postings, was at or near the math stud level, at a high school (not strong in math) three blocks away from Harvard that gets preferential admissions treatment. That profile gets in as a virtual lock on academics alone, with any essays and room-mate qualities being insurance, if they are even considered.</p>
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It's unclear how you know all that. Marite's kid, it seems from her postings, was at or near the math stud level, at a high school (not strong in math) three blocks away from Harvard that gets preferential admissions treatment. That profile gets in as a virtual lock on academics alone, with any essays and room-mate qualities being insurance, if they are even considered.
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<p>I agree with this assessment. It was not my aim to suggest that S's essays were spectacular (in my opinion, they weren't). What I was trying to suggest was that even essays that were not specifically designed to highlight personal qualities can still do so.</p>
<p>As I've helped some student posters on CC with their essays, I've read some that showed a great sense of humor; some that were pretentious and bombastic; some that were naive; some that made me want to know the writer better; and some that truly moved me even though they might also display some stylistic deficiencies. All revealed something about their authors that adcoms wanting to build a community would find interesting.</p>
<p>Quote:
Many of the national "academic" honors (Siemen's-Westinghouse top 5, Intel/STS Finalist...even top 10) are no longer hooks.
Where does that idea come from? </p>
<p>I agree that these are prestigious competitions, and I am not suggesting that there are fluke winners. I should have said are no longer “guaranteed” hooks for admission to Harvard. In 2006, more than a handful of the Intel/STS finalists...and at least one of the top 10... who applied to Harvard were not admitted. (And...let's avoid the argument that these were the students who were "handed" their projects and results by parents, friends of parents etc. I know many of these kids...and they had excellent all-around grades, SATS, EC's and passion for the work they did on their Intel/STS project.)</p>
<p>"What one does in the Boy Scouts is going to be very different from what one does being a top tennis player, for instance, or a world class violinist like Stefan Jackiw who's just graduated. Much can be inferred from a list, even if the recs or the essay do not bring out these personal qualities."</p>
<p>I am not suggesting that "roommate qualities" are a highly sought after commodity from world class athletes, musicians, development admits, academic superstars (who have gone beyond Vald., perfect SAT's and A+ average...and even INTEl/STS finalist) etc. These admits can be almost hermits (and some of them are!) although many qualify highly in the "roommate qualities" dept. </p>
<p>But these admits represent no more than 50-60% of the admits to Harvard (that % is probably too high....), and perhaps Marite's son and Twinmom's daughter were in these categories. But...how did the remaining 40% gain admission? </p>
<p>I have worked in admissions for a relatively small and highly competitive professional graduate program at one of these elite universities. And while the criteria for grad and undergrad admissions are different, we could only fill about 50% of our admissions slots with what were considered "superstar"/legacy/development etc. guaranteed" admits. For the remaining 50% of the admitted class- who were all academically more than qualified to be admitted - something in the application had to "grab" us. Frequently, it was something in the essay or recommendation...which was typically reinforced by transcripts, test scores, and a list of professional and outside activities. We never defined that “something” that grabbed us...which is why I continue to like the roommate qualities metaphor. When I reflect on some of these applicants, I realize the reason why I put them in the “further consideration” pile...in very simplistic terms....is because I would have chosen them for a roommate, too.</p>
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We never defined that “something” that grabbed us...which is why I continue to like the roommate qualities metaphor. When I reflect on some of these applicants, I realize the reason why I put them in the “further consideration” pile...in very simplistic terms....is because I would have chosen them for a roommate, too.
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<p>I have read application essays that suggested the writer would be someone I'd love to hang out with (whether or not we had compatible sleep habits). If I were on an adcom, I would have put such applications into the "worth further consideration pile, too. </p>
<p>For graduate applications, roommate qualities do not count.</p>
<p>My daughter is not a world class athlete, musician, legacy, URM, or a development admit. Academic superstar? No more than anyone else who had the stats to be considered. And she is certainly not a hermit!! I was just pointing out that her essays did not reflect the qualities that were being discussed on this thread.</p>
<p>I think that perhaps her essays might have grabbed someone, but not for the above mentioned reason.</p>
<p>Which is why lists of ECs can be quite helpful. There is a thread in the Parents Forum about the importance of Eagle Scouts and Gold Awards (for Girl Scouts). I would certainly conclude from such achievement that the applicant had the social skills (aka roommate qualities) that would be attractive to adcoms. </p>
<p>A CC poster now at Georgetown was in Jr ROTC and got a glowing rec from his commanding officer. He had plenty of chances to show his leadership skills, his commitment to service, etc... without even having to write an essay about it.</p>