<p>From Duke Alumni Magazine: " As application numbers go up and the applicant pool gets stronger, as grades and rigorous curriculum choices and standardized testing scores all are going through the roof, the "subjective" parts of the application become increasingly important. We look not only for students who are involved in their communities, but also for those who have made an impact. We look not only for well-rounded students, but also for well-lopsided applicants who have demonstrated real prowess, potential, and focus in a particular area....." <a href="http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/alumni/dm29/essay.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/alumni/dm29/essay.html</a></p>
<p>Harvard: "Each case is different. Harvard seeks to enroll well-rounded students as well as a well-rounded first-year class. Thus, some students distinguish themselves for admission due to their unusual academic promise through experience or achievements in study or research. Other students present compelling cases because they are more "well rounded" - they have contributed in many different ways to their schools or communities. Still other successful applicants are "well lopsided," with demonstrated excellence in one particular endeavor - academic, extracurricular or otherwise. Some students bring perspectives formed by unusual personal circumstances or experiences. Like all colleges, we seek to admit the most interesting, able and diverse class possible."</p>
<p>Stanford: "Form T2 also asks about your extracurricular interests and involvement. Remember that there are no right answers. No club or activity is more important than another, and no essay topic will ensure your admission. With extracurricular activities, a sustained depth of commitment is more important than a long list of clubs you have joined. An exceptional experience in one or two activities demonstrates your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. We want to see the impact your participation has had on that club, in your school, or in the larger community.</p>
<p>Our job is to assemble a well-rounded student body, and we know that such a group will include both well-rounded students and what we call well-lopsided or angular students, those who excel at one or two activities. Merely being involved in many clubs is not what is most important; your depth of commitment in whatever you do interests us the most."</p>
<p>Rachel Toor: "The job of admissions officers is to recruit, to boost application numbers. The more applications, the lower the admit rate, the higher the institutional ranking. Increasing application numbers is usually the No. 1 mandate of the recruiting season. Partly, that means trying to get the very best students to apply. But it also means trying to persuade those regular, old Bright Well-Rounded Kids (B.W.R.K.'s, in admissionese) to apply -- so that the college can reject them and bolster its selectivity rating. Reject them because there are so many of them, and because they're actually not as interesting as the "well-lopsided" kids -- those who have shown real prowess and potential in a more focused manner."</p>
<p>The New Yorker: " One of the effects of the increase in demand from the days when headmasters could chauffeur their preferred students into élite colleges is a shift in emphasis from what some admissions officers refer to as B.W.R.K.sbright well-rounded kidsto what are known as well-lopsided students. Its no longer the students who are well-rounded, in other words; its the class. This is why an applicants special markers matter so much: differentiation is what colleges are looking for. Harvard rejects twenty-five per cent of its toll free candidates. It is not looking for the perfect student; it is looking for the perfect class. In effect, the admissions office has a dozen mini-quotas to fill. "</p>