<p>In terms of importance, how would you rate the following in terms of importance in the admissions process:</p>
<ol>
<li>2250 SAT</li>
<li>44 out of 45 IB Predicted</li>
<li>Two 800s in SAT IIs</li>
<li>Great Essays</li>
<li>Great Recommendations</li>
<li>Good Extra-curriculars</li>
<li>Good Leadership</li>
<li>Good Work Experience</li>
<li>URM/ORM</li>
</ol>
<p>As you can probably see, many of these (well all) relate to me personally and so I wanted to see the aspects that may be the most important in terms of the process so I can highlight them.</p>
<p>I would really appreciate if people didn’t come along and give the generic answer that the admissions process is a holistic process and they are all equal etc. because I want to know how you would personally rate these in terms of importance if you were on the admissions committee.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much good it will do to know how I, personally, would rank these attributes because, as I’m sure you know, every school has their own priorities.
But since you’re asking …
I would say, after the academic hurdle has been reached, as it has in your case, I would put leadership up there at the top. This attribute relates to your extracurriculars, your work experience and even your recommendations. How have you demonstrated your leadership potential?
That’s my own bias. I like to see kids who can relate to and motivate others. If you have that attribute, definitely highlight it in any way you can. It will serve you well in life, as well as in the college process.</p>
<p>You’ll get into many excellent colleges with those credentials. I expect that you know that. So you must be asking some other question – perhaps will you get into Harvard, or Williams or whichever very selective colleges is on your list.</p>
<p>So what would differentiate you from others with equally impressive credentials is whether you have the intellectual curiosity, the creativity and the passion (in whatever field) distinguishes those with high grades from those who will contribute to the college, and who make a major difference later in life.</p>
<p>You’ll get into many excellent colleges with those credentials. I expect that you know that. So you must be asking some other question – perhaps will you get into Harvard, or Williams or whichever very selective colleges are on your list.</p>
<p>So what would differentiate you from others with equally impressive credentials is whether you have the intellectual curiosity, the creativity and the passion (in whatever field) that distinguishes those with high grades from those who will contribute to the college, the college experience of your classmates, and who may make a major difference later in life.</p>
<p>What exactly is a “great” essay? A “great” rec? There are so many intangibles that come into play when you’re talking about “soft” factors instead of quantifiable GPAs, SATs (and even those are evaluated relatively). It’s not as if adcoms line applications up on the floor from best to worst and pick only the top X%–it’s a dynamic process, full of confounding variables. At the end of the day, it comes down to what you offer a given university, whether that’s a traditional hook like URM, legacy, athlete or simply an interest in an underserved major.</p>