<p>I've seen posted a couple of times that Yale, more than Harvard and Stanford in particular, places a higher emphasis on being "well-rounded." Does anyone have evidence to confirm this, or is this simply a meme bounced around the CC echo chamber?</p>
<p>I asked this question earlier, and someone (don't remember who, but thanks!) posted a really great response:</p>
<p>"I think Yale wants you to be very good at everything, and very VERY good at something."</p>
<p>lol makes sense :)</p>
<p>I've never heard this. I seriously doubt there is a discernible difference in admissions strategies between the schools you've listed.</p>
<p>I think hookem168 has it correct. Unfortunately well-rounded is probably not going to get you into HYPS. Even if Yale has emphasized "well-roundedness" as an admissions criterion, there are enough people applying with amazing GPA and SAT scores (along with pretty good ECs) that the accepted kids are probably very good at something else, too. The people here I interact with have all usually done something really cool... rarely will you find a kid that was just "well-rounded".</p>