<p>well i know you still have to be academically capable for elite colleges, but which ones look more for character? such as musicians, poets, leaders, community 'servicers' and stuff.. sorry for the vagueness of the question <:)</p>
<p>edit: example: im thinking since the UC system is public, UCLA and UCB would be more obliged to picking out students with more academic merit more than anything</p>
<p>Claremont Mckenna. You can literally write your way in, and they definitely look for leadership in their applicants, not to the point of overlooking bad grades but strong leadership will defnitely give you a leg up.</p>
<p>All of the top tier colleges.</p>
<p>I disagree w/Bly. GPA and rigorous schedule are by far the most important factor in ultra selective schools' admissions criteria. Therefore, one would have to be extremely unique (tops in the nation?) to overcome a mediocre academic record. Certainly "character" is valued but these top tier schools have many applicants of proven "character" PLUS the academic achievement. Therefore they have the luxury of holistically admitting students. Best of luck to you</p>
<p>Vanderbilt. They truly take a holistic view of your application.</p>
<p>I agree 100% with T26E4.</p>
<p>You are right the UC systems mainly emphasizes GPA (however, there are other factors).</p>
<p>I would say private schools will look more holistically at apps then public universities. (In most cases)</p>
<p>I would agree with Red_Shirt to some extent because Claremont McKenna really looks at fit and it seems there are regularly people who are accepted by CMC and rejected by Stanford, Pomona or vice versa.</p>
<p>Don't forget UChicago.</p>
<p>Notre Dame values character man.
Emory and Washington St.Louis really like students who shows a lot of interest.</p>
<p>Any college that touts a strong honor code will probably look carefully at character (Davidson, Haverford). Carleton, however, will look at whether you are a character.</p>
<p>I'll second UChicago. There's a reason their applicant pool tends to be very self-selective.</p>
<p>fireflyscout, as a Carleton parent and alum, I can safely say that you win the prize for effectively describing Carleton in a single, pithy statement.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt; having excellent character exhibited in any one of numerous categories potentially overcomes mediocre stats.</p>
<p>Well I had around a 3.5 unweighted GPA and was accepted into Duke off the waitlist.</p>