Anonymous
02/12/2026 14:18
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
I thought I heard that one of the Swiss skiers at the Olympics is on the Dartmouth ski team. This made sense. That would be spiky, right?
Anonymous
02/12/2026 14:12
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Interested in history of a small Indian tribe is pointy. Publishing a paper on this topic on a high level journal is a spike. No national awards, but the achievement is at the same level.
That sounds like the definition of a faked spike, or maybe your belief about what it actually is. Kids who genuinely have the depth of interest in an arcane subject have done a lot more than “be interested” in the history and published a paper (more likely got their name as the 7th author in a pay-to-play scenario).
Honestly don’t worry about it because you cannot actually manufacture a genuine spike.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 13:30
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Spike means significant achievement in one or more areas on top of (not in replacement of) well roundness.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 13:29
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
I don’t think so, because a true “spike” is unique and has no national awards by definition. It’s amazing to me how much people cannot wrap their minds around the existence of kids (people?) who have actual independent interests that are not ginned up for prestige. A national award in something is impressive but it is an acheivement in something that by definition is mainstream and to some extent adult-directed.
+1000
A Olympic Gold Medal in Swimming is not a spike, it is "something that by definition is mainstream".
This is so stupid. Olympic gold medal definitely IS a spike. No one with half ounce of a brain would play word games like this.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 12:46
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Interested in history of a small Indian tribe is pointy. Publishing a paper on this topic on a high level journal is a spike. No national awards, but the achievement is at the same level.
So published work or poem in nationally recognized journal or hold art show at a nationally recognized gallery type of thing? So in effect an “award” but not competition for it?
Anonymous
02/12/2026 11:35
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Interested in history of a small Indian tribe is pointy. Publishing a paper on this topic on a high level journal is a spike. No national awards, but the achievement is at the same level.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 11:27
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
I don’t think so, because a true “spike” is unique and has no national awards by definition. It’s amazing to me how much people cannot wrap their minds around the existence of kids (people?) who have actual independent interests that are not ginned up for prestige. A national award in something is impressive but it is an acheivement in something that by definition is mainstream and to some extent adult-directed.
National awards are examples of achievements. You don’t necessarily need to have national awards, but you do need a very high level of achievements for that “point” to be a “spike”.
Anonymous
02/12/2026 11:16
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
I don’t think so, because a true “spike” is unique and has no national awards by definition. It’s amazing to me how much people cannot wrap their minds around the existence of kids (people?) who have actual independent interests that are not ginned up for prestige. A national award in something is impressive but it is an acheivement in something that by definition is mainstream and to some extent adult-directed.
+1000
A Olympic Gold Medal in Swimming is not a spike, it is "something that by definition is mainstream".
So if a spike isn’t national award, what is a spike? Isn’t it then still just a big passion? How is it identified to colleges different from a pointy passion?
Anonymous
02/12/2026 09:36
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
I don’t think so, because a true “spike” is unique and has no national awards by definition. It’s amazing to me how much people cannot wrap their minds around the existence of kids (people?) who have actual independent interests that are not ginned up for prestige. A national award in something is impressive but it is an acheivement in something that by definition is mainstream and to some extent adult-directed.
+1000
A Olympic Gold Medal in Swimming is not a spike, it is "something that by definition is mainstream".
Anonymous
02/12/2026 08:13
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
I don’t think so, because a true “spike” is unique and has no national awards by definition. It’s amazing to me how much people cannot wrap their minds around the existence of kids (people?) who have actual independent interests that are not ginned up for prestige. A national award in something is impressive but it is an acheivement in something that by definition is mainstream and to some extent adult-directed.
Anonymous
02/11/2026 22:11
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:My spike was that I didn't have a spike. Got into multiple Ivies. I was a non-conformist like all my other friends.
You are all alike.
Anonymous
02/11/2026 21:56
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Spiky denotes achievement—national awards. Everyone can be pointy. What you want is for that pointy thing to become big. A big spike.
Anonymous
02/11/2026 21:45
Subject: Re:Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Is spiky the same thing as pointy? Pointy being laser focused on one “passion” that do for years and in-depth and it engulfs the student. What’s spiky? Lots of passions that do for hours a day?
Anonymous
02/11/2026 21:25
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
Anonymous wrote:I am seeing schools in favor of high test scores again. Spiky without a good test score will not make it in the next few years. A very high score without a spike would probably make it more often than not.
Very high scores get cooked every cycle. All they do is get you onto the field.
Anonymous
02/11/2026 18:00
Subject: Predicting admission trends - is the “spiky” applicant here to stay?
My spike was that I didn't have a spike. Got into multiple Ivies. I was a non-conformist like all my other friends.