@elodyCOH he was captain of the varsity cross country team his senior year but that’s about it for leadership. He’d step in and teach the calculus class if the regular math teacher was out. But otherwise I’d say that his research stuff was probably what helped him over the edge. We also had some regional diversity to offer.
Pitt’s application is pretty simple and it’s available quite early. There are 3 short answer questions on the app that folks are supposed to use to help provide some additional info beyond the stats. It seems like Pitt first wants to see the stats and then it uses those questions to boost folks up to the initial round of scholarship $. So if your kid applies to Pitt, pay attention to the “optional” short answer questions. I wouldn’t treat them as optional.