<p>I don’t think that the private schools have a pecking order or rating. They are looking for diversity, to some extent.
If everyone plays piano and one kid plays the oboe, you can bet the oboe player will get a boost. I think that athleticism is appreciated at most schools, even if the kids aren’t stars. “Leadership” is big at the public colleges in California, and probably at some of the selective privates, too. What that means, exactly, isn’t always that apparent. I think that certain ECs can be “fashionable” in some years, and not in others. All of this is a very good reason NOT to worry about what the colleges think when helping your kids make choices. Let their choices be their own, and they will find a college that appreciates them for who they are.</p>