Reply to Top schools for kids with perfect scores but minimal ECs?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Top schools for kids with perfect scores but minimal ECs? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Not having ECs doesn't lock you out completely. If your essays/personality/impressions from recommendation/interviews are glowing, you CAN get into HYPS and any other top academic school despite not having any impressive extracurricular activities. A baseline academic expectation is in place- and OP's child is easily there- but from then on it comes down to other factors.

A few posters here have stated that their high stats child got rejected most everywhere. While we will never know their individual circumstance, the reality is that those students did not leave as good an impression as others in the pool (not to be taken as a personal reflection of potential/aptitude/ability when a whopping 95% of highly qualified students get rejected at some of them). Could lack of involvement in ECs be a factor? Sure. But it would only stand out if they had nothing else to go off from. Say a student was a gifted intellectual who wrote superb, nuanced, thought-provoking essays. One teacher stated that they would be a field-changer for their discipline and among the best students they had taught in their career. It wouldn't matter if said student had lackluster ECs/outside involvements- the admissions office would want them.

Most essays are merely okay-good. They tackle the question raised and give some depth regarding the student's background/interests, but they don't have a wow factor. Most recommendations are positive, with teachers highlighting said student is among the top 5-10% of their career. Only a few are dazzling, deeply personal accounts highlighting just how extraordinary said student is (as backed by concrete narratives and examples, not empty words). Those are impressions that remain with admission officers as they go through hundreds of applications in a week. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics