<p>
True, but there are many CDSs that mark ECs at the same importance level as grades including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale, Duke, Caltech, etc. There are also a few colleges that mark certain other non-academic criteria as more important than grades. For example, MIT marks character/personal qualities as more important than grades or stats in their CDS. MIT gives a more detailed explanation of how character/personal qualities can be more important than grades and test scores on their website at <a href=“What we look for | MIT Admissions”>http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/match</a> .</p>