<p>I understand that all colleges want well rounded students, but which colleges value the subjective part of the application more? For example, a school like MIT probably values success in relevant math/science courses and high math scores on sat/act more than a school like Brown where I feel there is more weight on the personal essays. So which schools value the subjective part of the application more?</p>
<ul>
<li>Don't include schools like Berklee or Tisch where a large portion of the application process is based on an audition.</li>
</ul>
<p>I would not assume that a good essay alone is likely to compensate for below-average stats at any highly selective school (including Brown or the most selective LACs). Many applicants admitted with below-average stats are likely to be legacies, athletes, URMs, and other “hooked” applicants. That leaves only the tiniest opening (probably low single digits) for unhooked applicants with below-average numbers.</p>
<p>If you’re talking about above-average (but not perfect) stats, that’s different.</p>
<p>Very selective colleges don’t want well-rounded students. They build well-rounded classes from students that have excelled in some area. This is well-rounded in regard to ECs, assuming that’s what you meant.</p>
<p>And if you think the most selective colleges don’t get enough applications from students strong in all the areas of the application so they need to be a bit more lenient in some areas than others, you are mistaken.</p>
<p>For almost all schools, you need to qualify based on subjective stats before they focus on the more objective factors (essays, interview, ECs). If there is a particular reason your stats are not where they should be, that needs to be a part of your application. The most common exception would be for programs that are art/music oriented which you said you are not interested in. </p>
<p>But that does not mean everyone needs to be perfect. I have heard admission reps say that they look to put together a well rounded, diverse class of people with different interests and talents. So if you have areas of relative strength and weakness, you can still do fine in the admissions process.</p>