<p>As the title asked what do you think PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES (MIT,HARVARD,STANFORD,ETC) would take interest in the most? I went to a Stanford admission session and one of the guys that work for the admission process said that they seek both of them, like you can either be well-rounded or individualistic. Like personally I am not good at english or history and my SAT scores went down because of that but in return my Math and Physics are extremely strong and i have EC's that 95% dominated by both subject.
So again umm I just want to hear some opinions about this process of selection</p>
<p>The school would preferred to have a well rounded class instead of a class of well rounded students.</p>
<p>A lot of bright and way more talented kids than you get rejected by Harvard, Stanford and MIT every year. What makes you special ? There’s plenty of great colleges out there, Harvard and Stanford are only brands these days. </p>
<p>I think the admissions officer isn’t lying. They do take some of both. I feel like there is a minimum standard, though. If you didn’t score at least a 700 on all sections of the SAT and have a GPA of at least 3.7, you don’t really stand a chance. But on top of that these schools need SOMETHING to make you stand out to take you. It might be an EC accomplishment, athletic skills, URM status, etc. Or some combination of those. Very strong stats across the board with a particularly intriguing essay might get you noticed (but it is tough to write an essay that intriguing – honestly, every time I have ever read an essay out here on CC that a student thought was outstanding, I have thought “meh”). Go ahead and apply as a reach, but be sure you have some realistic match and safety schools that you can afford and would be happy to attend. Don’t get hung up on prestige, there are tons of great colleges that aren’t HYPSM.</p>
<p>I think there are very few truly lopsided students who get into ivies without hooks, given that an ivy-caliber score on the SAT/ACT demonstrates the student’s ability to be a well-rounded. Do you need to show passion? Of course. Do you need to be a complete superstar in a certain field? Not necessarily.</p>
<p>One of the things colleges hate are kids who dodge the tough courses in some subjects. It’s one thing to do something extraordinarily well, it’s another to have only that. Somewhere along the line, you are going to have to take something you don’t like, and do well in it. Whether that is having to take a hardware course while majoring in comp sci, technical writing while being a STEM major, a statistics course while being a history major, or intro biology while being an English major, somewhere you are bound to run into something you don’t like, and showing the discipline required to do well in those classes can only help you.</p>
<p>Yea i understand that I take all AP’s and got all A’s but I don’t excel in those subjects as much as math and science. My test scores aren’t special in those subjects if you know what i mean</p>
<p>intparent – I used to think that way as well, minimum of 700 on everything. My child had a 680 math, despite As in AP Calculus and honors math classes; but a 790 CR and a 770 WR, along with an 800 Subject Test English Lit and 780 Spanish. I was worried that she wouldn’t make the pass… but she not only got into her ED Ivy but the feedback after the fact from the other schools she submitted her apps to (and withdrew) clearly made it obvious that the 680 didn’t hurt her at all. She is a caucasian female with parents with postgrad degrees. </p>