<p>What I’ll add to that schools like Amherst, Dartmouth, and a few other northeastern privates recognize that their something lethargic about their traditional campus make-up (Amherst College is aobut as politically-active and community-oriented as Beverly Hills). One thing that will often be an “it” factor will be a true sense of drive, passion, dedication, and determination not only in your academic achievements but in your extracurricular.</p>
<p>We already have a campus filled with student who do a splendid job at what’s prescribed to them (massive papers and chem tests),and little else. If that image is a relfection of you, then I’m sorry but “yawn…” There are enough 1580 SAT, 4.0 graduates from NYC magnets and New England boarding schools at Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth, and the like that do nothing. Admissions know you can do the work, they also know that this kid from an underfunded school in Miami can do the work too. I can’t stress how important the essay is, here the essay often becomes the biggest factor. In that essay the kid from Miami demonstrated a promising, well articulated determination, passion, and appreciation for the instituion that could not be denied while his counterparts at Milton and Berkshire showed that they could write weel, that’s about it.</p>