The "What Makes an Applicant Interesting" Theory

Applying to College
1

<p>We've heard the rumors. We've seen the admit rates. And now we've read the official decisions threads...and the flood of rejection letters.</p>

<p>Among all the theories that attempt to explain the "randomness" of top-tier college admissions, I've yet to find one that can be applied universally. </p>

<p>Some call it a "crapshot" and leave it as that; others say it's because some applicants are just more "interesting" than others. For example, we see this a lot in the Chance Me forums:

[quote]
Well, you have good stats and your 2370 SAT score is good, but not a shoo-in. HYPSM is a crapshot, and you're just not interesting enough. Nothing stands out about you.

[/quote]

So what makes an applicant "interesting"?</p>

<p>Please share your opinions or observations :)</p>

2

<p>Experiences that are unique and show perseverance and strength of character.
Experiences that are prestegious and worthy of all the praise they recieve (eg Intel, ISEF)
Well written, funny in the right places, essay</p>

3

<p>Interest depends upon the admissions officers reading the application. A student can be rejected from a less selective college or university and accepted to a more selective college or university because of differences in the admissions staffs.</p>

4

<p>A certain element of it will be arbitrary and subjective. Different schools are looking for different kinds of people, so one essay might be great for one and meh for another. Then, as BillyMc said, different adcoms will looked at different apps in different ways.</p>

<p>In any case, Harvard can’t accept more apps just because they’re interesting. 94% are still getting rejected. Maybe the standard for what’s “interesting” is going up and no one is aware of it. Most people who come on here and ask why they didn’t get into x school says, “Great teacher reqs, unique essays, and my interview went great.” If everyone’s saying that, then they’re not all going to get in.</p>

5

<p>Why would what makes a person interesting in life be any different than what makes them interesting in college admissions?</p>

6

<p>Some stuff may be interesting in life, but have no chance of becoming more than something interesting.</p>

7

<p>I don’t know if this is any help but I was told by many recruiters that my 2 year job working for the Public Library was quite “interesting”. They said holding a job for that long that required a certain degree of knowledge (certain because I was just a HS sophomore when I started) really stood out.</p>

8

<p>IMO, personal essay is the element that makes you interesting. :)</p>

9

<p>Impressive ECs and awards. That makes an applicant interesting.</p>

<p>Impressive as in “impressive”, not impressive as in “great.”</p>

10

<p>if you are asian(not indian) and speak fluent arabic or if you are white and speak fluent chinese</p>

11

<p>“…personal essay is the element that makes you interesting…”</p>

<p>I agree! The essay is an opportunity for the adcoms to become familiar with who you are as an individual; in my opinion, accepting an applicant with an interesting, unique essay whose SAT score is somewhere in between 2150 and 2250 is infinitely more appealing than accepting an applicant with a 2400/36 whose essays are boring and generic.</p>

12

<p>Your essays are an opportunity to romance the Admission Committee. If they fall in love with you, it makes it hard for them to turn you away.</p>

13

<p>I was wondering this exact thing.</p>

<p>Although I have to admit that my application was a bit lacking in some aspects, it more than made up for that, in my opinion. I was very interesting and different. I don’t mean to sound arrogant, I can give you details if you want.</p>

<p>I have gotten into a college I love, and I am immensely grateful, but I have been rejected to so many others that I just can’t help but wonder.</p>

<p>I can impartially say that I was different, relatively impressive, I have had difficult and numerous experiences and I have been told that my personal essay was ‘powerful and compelling’. But it didn’t work.</p>

<p>So, what is it that makes someone so interesting that they would be chosen?</p>

14

<p>Just guessing here, of course. But, based on the number of questions that came up on the common app and some of the supplements, a lot of the colleges D applied to seemed to consider international experience/ foreign language ability/ travel abroad relatively “interesting”.</p>

15

<p>I found this poster’s thinking very true:
<a href=“Oh subjectivity, you wile monster! - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums”>Oh subjectivity, you wile monster! - Harvard University - College Confidential Forums;

16

<p>It’s like a roller coaster, sometimes I think ‘Why the hell didn’t they take me?’, and others ‘Well, yeah, I actually can understand.’</p>

<p>Dignified1, I too guessed that international experience/foreign language ability/travel abroad were very important. Especially nowadays. But here’s the thing. I speak 5 languages. I am perfectly fluent in three, and almost fluent in the other two. I have lived in many different countries, and in three different continents, and traveled quite a bit. So, that’s now where I was lacking.</p>

<p>T26EA, that post is very useful and informative, thanks for the link!</p>

<p>I think a very important reason is the huge amount of very impressive candidates there has been. I not only wonder about me, for example there is this girl in CC. As far as I know her application was great, she had the grades, and SAT’s, the international experience/foreign language ability/travel abroad, the depth and wonderful essays and the maturity. She was rejected everywhere but in her safety.</p>

<p>Sorry, I’m probably rambling but I’m just so surprised.</p>

<p>I believe the previous posters were right, the admission officer plays a big role. The more they like you, the more things in common they have with you, the more they are going to fight for you, and therefore the more possibilities you will have.</p>