"well rounded"

College Search & Selection
1

<p>What do IV Leagues mean by "well rounded"?</p>

<p>I know that this term is different from school to school.</p>

2

<p>They get a lot of applicants with really impressive brainpower (grades and SAT scores). They don't want a class full of brainiacs (and look down at the likes of U of Chicago and MIT for overvaluing pure brainpower). They want people who are interesting, have done interesting things in interesting places, are from places not normally represented at elite East Coast colleges, have demonstrated leadership, have shown proficiency in areas that are not purely mental (e.g. athletics, music), and have overcome major obstacles (physical handicaps, downtrodden backgrounds). They want students to learn from each other in class and out of class, in addition to what their professors teach them. Tread softly, as this topic often gets controversial when a student's ethnicity or gender is considered a factor that makes him or her well-rounded.</p>

3

<p>anybody else?</p>

4

<p>By the way, it's "ivy league," not "IV leagues."
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>There's also an argument that the Ivy League's interpretation of well-roundedness is corrupted as well: the Ivy League and similar schools look oftentimes for students with "hooks," unique qualities that dominate an applicant's resume and personality, such as nationally ranked cellists or experienced medical assistants. This creates a class with incredibly diverse interests composed of rather 2-dimensional people, rather than a more (but not necessarily) homogenous class made of students each with many personal interests that haven't been taken to the level of national expertise, such as a student who is a good debater, amateur chef, and frequent reader.</p>

<p>So by saying that they want well-rounded students, the Ivy League may be lying a wee bit. Admissions to those schools are so hit-or-miss, however, it's hard for anyone outside the admissions offices (probably inside, too) to know wether they value a well rounded person more than a well rounded class.</p>