<p>Periwinkle - those “hyper exotic” activities don’t count for as much as they once did because they’re just so darn ubiquitous these days. Quite a few kids with imperfect grades and scores are rising to the top of the heap (or at least to the pile getting acceptances). For one, they’re infinitely more interesting. They’re also often some of the hardest working students and will prize the opportunity more. </p>
<p>It’s easy to tell, in a lot of cases, where some activity or experience had a lot of adult “hands” involved, or where there is resume padding without passion or substance. Overeager adults try to read tea leaves shove students into the right “resume” boosters.</p>
<p>The kids who are self-directed tend to do better in the final analysis than the ones who went on school sponsored trips, or had a laundry list of typical (aimed at famous school) activities - unless something of their own doing that was proactive stood out.</p>
<p>No need to turn out a perfect kid - just a well-rounded kid who is passionate about something and where every grade is hard-earned even if not an A. Those stand out amongst the crowd.</p>