Which means (a) choose recommenders wisely. Your DC should ask teachers who know him well and can vouch for his interestingness (providing concrete examples) and (b) DS should keep working on the essays until they capture his voice and what's special about him. There are two objectives here -- one is to standout in a positive and memorable way and the other is to show -- not tell -- what's interesting about how he looks at/approaches the world. He's got maybe 5-15 minutes of a reader's attention and wants that reader to walk away thinking "I'd like to meet that kid" and/or "He'd be a good person to have in the mix."

Teens reciting their resumes rarely prompt those kind of responses. And, in general, it doesn't make sense to repeat yourself (which means that, for Common App schools, make sure that the school-specific essays complement/enhance the CA essays rather than cover similar ground).

While many kids get in without following this advice, kids who are more dependent on essays for admission and who don't have a great background story to tell

Anonymous wrote:Recs and essays.

+1

Recs and essays.

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between not being a joiner and having no interests.

OP here, and I agree. My son, while not a joiner of many activities, is very committed to one. He also has plenty of interests outside of school, but they aren't team-based. He loves to read and has pretty much educated himself outside of school. So while he doesn't have a lot of organized activities to list on paper, he is an extremely interesting person - just not sure how to convey that to an admissions committee.

from which high school?

Anonymous wrote:Do good grades and long-term commitment to only one activity count for anything these days? My son is not a joiner. He's not interested in student council or leadership positions. He's a good student and has friends, but he's fairly cerebral and likes his alone time. In short, he's kind of an introvert like me.

I don't want him to have to change who he is just to rack up points for his college resume, so we haven't pressured him to do any activities he's not truly interested in. We feel that the main point of school is to learn and do well academically, and anything else is fine but not necessary. I'm wondering if there are colleges who would be happy to find kids like my son, who don't jump through all the requisite hoops just to look good on paper. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I know a boy got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford... without much of the leadership crap. He does have a 3.9 GPA.

Anonymous wrote:There's a difference between not being a joiner and having no interests.

Absolutely.

There's a difference between not being a joiner and having no interests.

I don't think they use perfect scores as a criterion, period. High scores/GPAs, yes, but it's a (relatively narrow) range -- not an absolute or a rank ordering.

That is not enough. Even if you want it to be. Saying and doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is futile. Top universities don't use perfect scores as the sole criteria. They want to make sure students can do the work, so high grades and scores are required. Then they look to build a class.

Depends on the school. Each of the most elite privates rejects more of those kids than it accepts.

Anonymous wrote:The bubble's a myth. It suggests that people are rank-ordered by stats and that there's a massive tie once the highest stats kids are admitted. But really stats just put you in the qualified pile and what moves you from there to the admitted pile varies. Standing out (in some positive way) matters. Demographics matter. Institutional goals matter. It's not a lottery but it's not a meritocracy either. It's more like speed dating.

Like having perfect grades and SATs.

The bubble's a myth. It suggests that people are rank-ordered by stats and that there's a massive tie once the highest stats kids are admitted. But really stats just put you in the qualified pile and what moves you from there to the admitted pile varies. Standing out (in some positive way) matters. Demographics matter. Institutional goals matter. It's not a lottery but it's not a meritocracy either. It's more like speed dating.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there would be colleges. But if he's hoping to get into a school that reflects his level of academics, he's going to be going against kids who all have similar grades as him, even if he's at the top of his class. So if you have 3 kids

1.. your son. Very intelligent but not involved in anything
2. Very intelligent. Captain of sports team and involved in student council all 4 years
3. Very intelligent and has dabbled in about 15 activities but hadn't committed to one

Which kid do you think the spot is most likely to go to?

ShE didn't say nothing. She said 1 activity. Most schools would take #2 first, then #1. Joining everything is OUT these days.

Kids shouldn't be penalized for joining a lot of activities and having a lot of interests. Isn't high school the perfect time of life to try new things? This dumb ass college admissions formulas are idiotic.

They will not be penalized if they have a great essay explaining that and have the grades. Bottom line, it is the grades. Everything else only matters if you are on the bubble.

This.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes there would be colleges. But if he's hoping to get into a school that reflects his level of academics, he's going to be going against kids who all have similar grades as him, even if he's at the top of his class. So if you have 3 kids

1.. your son. Very intelligent but not involved in anything
2. Very intelligent. Captain of sports team and involved in student council all 4 years
3. Very intelligent and has dabbled in about 15 activities but hadn't committed to one

Which kid do you think the spot is most likely to go to?

ShE didn't say nothing. She said 1 activity. Most schools would take #2 first, then #1. Joining everything is OUT these days.

Kids shouldn't be penalized for joining a lot of activities and having a lot of interests. Isn't high school the perfect time of life to try new things? This dumb ass college admissions formulas are idiotic.

They will not be penalized if they have a great essay explaining that and have the grades. Bottom line, it is the grades. Everything else only matters if you are on the bubble.