<p>Is it better to be a well rounded student to have done many different activities in HS or is it better to be more math and science oriented?
How would top-tiers look at that?</p>
<p>...it depends on the school. Even in the top tier. Also, you can be well-rounded and still be math and science oriented. Well-rounded doesn't have to mean that you have one academic EC, one sport, one community service, one leadership activity.</p>
<p>Most schools need both type of kids, so do whatever is better for you. I once went to an award ceremony, fr middle schoolers, at Occidental College. Someone from the school gave a little speech. She said they loved the well rounded students, but they also liked the well lopsided students too. I liked the way they put it.</p>
<p>I am the mother to one well rounded student and one well lopsided student. I think they wil both get into good schools.</p>
<p>depends completely on your race.</p>
<p>if you're black/hispanic/native american
math/sicence focus can get u in any strong math/science/engineering school
if you're asian, you'll get rejected</p>
<p>if you're asian, well-rounded in everythnig is the way to go.</p>
<p>no one try to be politically correct here, it's the harsh truth.
and quite bringing up stupid AA arguments anymore, ppl on CC never give out good arguments for pro AA.</p>
<p>^ well, screw the pc's ideas are kind of right I guess, if they weren't...........intellectually challenged?</p>
<p>But really, at top university the concentration of math & science oriented white and asian students is very high, so being math & science oriented is a fine path to take, if you are going to be PHENOMENAL at it. </p>
<p>Black and latino students are underrepresented at engineering schools so if you are a strong candidate, being of those races could make you more "desirable"</p>
<p>My guess is that the answer, for top tiers that aren’t tech schools is this: it depends on how lopsided you are vs. how good at math/science. </p>
<p>For instance, I’m lopsided in favor of the humanities and arts, but still decent enough at math/science. So, my application showed all As in English, History and Photo, plus writing camps, years of dance, a photo award, a pretty good writing sample, etc, while my math/sciences grades had some A-s and B+s in high level classes. My SAT scores were really lopsided as well (800v vs. 660 math). So, I was lopsided, but not by a lot: colleges don’t mind seeing a bit more talent in one area than the other, as long as you are still decent in the area you are not so good at. Being lopsided in the same way in favour of math/science should be fine as well. </p>
<p>However, with just my accomplishments in the humanities areas, I would not have had a shot at top schools if I’d taken all low level math sciences classes and gotten nothing higher than a B. OTOH, I’m not in any way the next great American novelist. If I were, if I had had stories published in reputable journals, won prestigious writing awards, had had really phenomenal essay and writing samples, then if I had had lower math/science grades, I still might have had a shot at those top schools. The same sort of thing applies for math/science as well: if you excel to a truly outstanding extent, than it’s probably ok to be more lopsided.</p>
<p>I hope that makes sense.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But really, at top university the concentration of math & science oriented white and asian students is very high, so being math & science oriented is a fine path to take, if you are going to be PHENOMENAL at it.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>And what's your definition of "PHENOMENAL"?</p>
<p>btw, I'm Asian.</p>
<p>Maybe phenomenal = potential Nobel recipient?</p>
<p>Honestly, just do what you like. Don't take it that the advice people give you here is how you should dictate your four years in high school. I mean really, does well-roundedness or lop-sidedness really correlate to more success relative to the other in college? And what do you mean by "better"? My roommate at MIT is an IPhO gold medalist (the lopsided person), and another person down the hall plans all sorts of charity events and is President of our dorm(well-rounded). So who is "better"? They're both at MIT.</p>
<p>^ IPhO gold medalist? =O</p>
<p>*sigh, gotta be super lopsided or super well-rounded</p>
<p>*sigh gotta ask your parents to make your skin darker</p>
<p>^ rofl /************/</p>
<p>i totally agree with whoever said asians should be well rounded, while it looks better for URMs to be lob-sided. whites.. idk. opinions?</p>
<p>i just dont like to be fake politically correct yet at the same time misleading
like all those dumba$$ pro AAers and fake adcoms. :D</p>
<p>^translation: i just like to make irrelevant incorrect comments because it makes me feel cool. nobody asked you about your motives.</p>
<p>nobody asked about your translation</p>