Just curious, what do you guys think about how being well rounded or having a spike factors into college decision at top colleges?
For example, Student A and Student B apply to Harvard.
Student A is well rounded, meaning they have all As, have taken 10 APs, member of 6 clubs, volunteer hours, 2350 SAT 36 ACT, Band, Swimming, etc.
Student B has a spike, meaning they also have all As, but in a more specialized sense. They have only taken 6 APs, and they are only a member of 3 clubs. They have a 2250 SAT and a 35 ACT. However, they devoted all their time to one area, their spike. They had a summer internship at a large research science-based corporation, they participated in several national level science competitions, they won numerous state awards, etc.
The way I see it, colleges like Harvard get thousands of applicants a year, and most of them are all the same- Qualified, Well Rounded students. But because Harvard can only accept so many, thousands of valedictorians are rejected each year. So the Student with the spike gets in because they stand out.
nobody on CC can tell you what the admissions staff will like . only those who make the decisions there can tell you.
and some of it is just luck, like the first person to look at your app. was in a great mood at the time they reviewed your application and it made it to round 2 vs. a day early or later you get “rejected” just because.
Who knows what they are looking for. My thoughts: they probably change it up every couple of years or so. Some well-round years, some spiked. They obviously cannot have the same type of students admitted. I can’t imagine 80% of admit students be stem kids only, unless that is the main thing the school focuses on. I think the best thing to do is to do what interests you in high school. Don’t do things that you think are the “it” things to get you into a certain school. Do something meaningful to you. Those things shine through in essays.
The only thing you can control is being proud of your choices in hs. Gotta let the chips fall where they may. You cannot control how college admin officers perceive your application.
I strongly suspect, based on common sense and a tiny bit of information (my husband is an alumni interviewer for Columbia, so he gets a tiny slice of info about who gets in and who doesn’t) (eg, I don’t actually know) that colleges like both kinds of kids and need both kinds to make up a good class. I doubt very much that they decide that it’s a spike year or a well rounded year. They’re looking for academically qualified kids who will be an asset to the school.
Schools talk about spikes and passions as a way of trying to reassure kids that they don’t all need to do everything, that focusing on the one or two things you love the most can absolutely make you an excellent candidate for a very competitive school. OTOH, it’s not like they’re going to look at the application of the kid who is genuinely and seriously interested in and committed to several very different areas and say “Feh! She’s TOO well rounded. What use could we possibly have for a kid with wide ranging interests and varied accomplishments? Reject her!”
Work hard, pursue your genuine interests, have a life. (Re)read Applying Sideways to MIT. Don’t try to game the system, because you can’t.
Based on our own results I think student needs to be well rounded with spike. Spike will not compensate for bad grades or test scores or luck of leadership. But well rounded without spike might not be enough for top schools.
Agree with #4 that the probable answer is both. I.e. a student with a well-rounded academic base with no weaknesses, but also a spike of unusually high achievement in some sort of academic or extracurricular activity.
The answer is the kid who did whatever he/she did because that’s what was interesting, fun, and fulfilling, whether it was participating in a variety of activities, or being heavily involved in one.
Nobody can answer this hypothetical. There is no magic formula for college admissions. One admissions officer told me that they look to put together a well rounded class – that will include some well rounded students as well as some students with specialized interests.
Admittedly my first reaction is that with a 5.2% acceptance rate it is unlikely that either student will get into Harvard. The top tier schools have enough highly qualified applicants who are well rounded and who have “spikes” to fill the class over many times. Both students A and B should apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that are affordable and that they would be happy to attend.