<p>There is very little evidence that the Ivies are hot to accept well rounded kids. In fact, that's a fallacy that you'll hear from frantic parents and students around town and posted by uninformed people on boards like CC.</p>
<p>What places like Ivies want is "well rounded classes," which means classes in which the students are very bright and represent a variety of talents and interests. Often that means that the majority of accepted students are very bright students who are well lopsided.</p>
<p>Back in the days in which I applied to Ivies (the late '60s), the Ivies were looking for well rounded bright students who had dabbled in a variety of activities. </p>
<p>That now has changed. For instance, typically what I see of each student accepted to Harvard from my area are: extremely high scores, gpa and an exceptionally strong course load plus about 2 exceptionally strong ECs or talents that stand out on at the very least a regional and state level, typically, however, a state and national level. The student also demonstrates through interview, probably their essays and recommendations, that the student is passionate about learning, is a leader (in far more than name) and appears to be out for the greater good of society, not just out to make a lot of bucks for themselves.</p>
<p>Very occassionally will an exceptionally well rounded student get in: But, it's clear that such students are self-directed to be well rounded, not forcing themselves to do things to impress Harvard. For instance, one student was a national champion in a language like Latin or Greek, was a national champion in math, had sky high test scores, valedictorian, and had demonstrated leadership in a variety of ways that clearly went beyond simply having a title. He was planning to major in something like philosophy. I didn't meet him until after his acceptance, so when I met him for dinner later, he certainly had no reason to put on a front. His converation was wide ranging and informed, and he demonstrated curiosity about a variety of subjects. There was absolutely no evidence that he was faking interests to interest Harvard.</p>
<p>Due to lack of space, each year, there are some students with the above characteristics who don't get in. However, from what I've seen, many of the students who don't get in may have high grades/scores and class rank, but have no demonstrated passion for doing anything except having their noses to the academic grindstones. Some may have activities that look good on paper, but fall apart in inteview and probably in terms of their recommendations because the activities were obviously pursued to dress up the students' resumes, not because the students were interested in them.</p>
<p>A large portion of the Ivy League experience is campus life including the hundreds of student-run extracurricular activities that students do purely for the love of it. For instance, about 300 students a year students may work for free for as many as 30 or more hours a week running Harvard's daily newspaper (including supervising the adults in the pressroom) even though most of the the students plan to go to medical school, business or law school (as did Franklin Roosevelt, who was editor in chief) and very few plan journalism careers.</p>
<p>Anyway, the Ivies strive to produce leaders who'll have an impact on all segments of society. Consequently, the Ivies attempt to accept students who demonstrate not only academic excellence and high intellect, but also demonstrate leadership and gregariousness indicating they'll contribute actively to campus life and society.</p>
<p>When it comes to Harvard, the admissions officers have said that at least 85% of the applicants are academically qualified for admission. Consequently, what makes a difference is the students' other activities beside pure academics and test scores.</p>