OP, it’s not so much the accomplishments themselves (or some experiences) as what sort of kid lies behind that. One of the challenges for many kids is understanding that, while most of the typical high school experience is competitive, (who does best, who does more, who gets what spotlight, who’s"special,"etc,) these colleges will view holistically. You seem to be looking at this hierarchically, as if some one line can beat some other.
When a student even ask how langs compare to starting a business or an NGO, writing some article, etc, it seems maybe he/she is focused on the wrong aspects. None of those are tips, much less hooks. None of those are what a tippy top is “expecting” from kids.
For tippy tops, you need to go back and learn what they look for, what they actually say. Pick a college like Harvard, which puts it in print. Or MIT, which has extensive admissions blogs.
@lookingforward my apologies for about to sound like a layman but what do they look for? From their website all I saw was: rigorous curriculum, good grades, good scores, good ECs, good recommendations and a good narrative (story) that ties everything neatly, may I ask if there’s something I missed? If so may I please be directed to the correct website to educate myself?
They’ve provided you with the answer, which is quoted below.
That pretty well covers it. Very little will make up for a shortfall in one of these areas for select colleges.
You’ve missed nothing. There is no magic formula. As mentioned above, the true hooks are: recruited athlete, URM, legacy/development, celebs/children of celebs. Each year, a college might be looking for a specific type, but none of us works in admissions, so we don’t know, and they won’t tell you. You are simply grasping at straws with your various “what if” scenarios.
OP, if you are truly interested in the schools you listed (though they don’t seem ideal for your language interests), all you can do is what all other interested students to - put together the strongest application you possibly can and toss your name in the ring and hope to get chosen.
That’s not what the Harvard what we look for says, at all. The words rigor, narrative, etc, don’t even appear. The competition will be fierce, from top performers, kids with depth and breadth, the ability to, let me call it, ‘think and operate on a Harvard level.’ (That’s more than academics or performance in classes.) Right now, we’re not talking about their selection process, but what you offer them, how well considered that is, how you learned about the school to match them to you and you to them. Go back to the admissions web pages. You don’t have to do this for all colleges, maybe some kids are just funning it with an app to HYPSMabc. But it’s worth it for the uber selective. (No matter how any posters tell you their kids just did what they did and still got a prime admit.)
The colleges up want are Middlebury, Georgetown, Tufts, Dickinson, University of Indiana (especially critical language flagship) then all other critical language flagships, gwu, American.
Have you done NSLI - Y?
Yes having six foreign languages certified is a differentiator. Especially if you plan on double majoring in two (preferably one critical) along with a political science or economics minor.
It is not a hook and it won’t make up for deficiencies (IE., sub 1400 sat, 3.4 GPA… )but it’ll help.
My advice would be to target the colleges listed above, and once these apps are good and done, add your super reaches.
I don’t have any particular deficiencies… 1550-1600 SAT, near perfect SAT IIs, 4 APs I scored well in without taking the classes in junior year, Top class rank, couple of strong (although not outstanding) ECs. I would imagine I’d be a competitive candidate for HYP by the stats alone.
I was merely wondering whether the languages add anything of value, enough to tip my candidacy from competitive, to very competitive or dare-I-say, shoe-in?
You may not think you have deficiencies but you’re only looking at stats and a little sheen from the langs. My bet is you’ll make it past first cut, unless you flub something in the app, turn them off. But the real goal is to make it to the finish line. That’s way more than stats and knowing more langs than someone else. As Harvard says, about 6000 kids will make it to finals, for less than 2000 admit letters.
You have to understand the stakes here and what the competition is. You’ll be up against kids who did more than you can imagine now. Kids with experience, challenges, responsibilities, impact, in their areas of interest- and in additional ways, in their communities or in advocacy, etc. Langs alone will not take you from competitive to very competitive. It’s the wrong way to think about this.
@lookingforward if I may ask, how should I look at it then? Isn’t that what getting in to these schools is, I mean they themselves admit it, they could fill numerous classes with equally qualified freshmen but only have room for one class of 2000. At the end of the day, knowing your chances I’d say are pretty important. And if my chances are 33%, I’d say that’s quite decent (although I don’t know if that’s accurate).
Oh and yes I am very much aware of the competition, I even mentioned it in the first post. I’d say that was the reason I made the post in the beginning, I recently (a few months) ago learned about how qualified some of these candidates will be (and a lot of them are in ways I never thought possible, i.e. research with profs, starting NGOs, I thought those were impossible legally but evidently I was incorrect). Please do not think I’m trying to oversimplify the process, I just wanted the opinion of some of the more experienced members in this community as to whether the languages would mean anything. That is all.
Once again, I am very aware of the still low chances of admissions, but 33% would seem worth the paperwork IMO.
That has been asked and answered. Several very experienced members with a great track record for helping students on this site have weighed in with their opinions.
As experienced and knowledgeable as these users are, there in absolutely nobody on this site that say that your chances (or anybody’s chances) are 25% or 33% or any %. They can only offer their opinions. You certainly have the potential to be accepted by some top schools, but the only way you will find out is by crafting the best application package you can and sending it in.
@skieurope Thank you all so much, if I may, I think this case (as in post) can be more or less concluded. I’ve found all of your opinions very insightful and I’ll definitely apply. Hopefully, I’ll remember to update this post to let you guys know how it went. Once again, thank you all so much!