Lots of good advice here. When schools get lots of competitive applications (our DD 34/4.0/5.0 is barely in the top 20% of her school), the emphasis has to be holistic… and ECs too have to stand out and not just be participatory. The student needs to demonstrate commitment and impact in a few areas. Doesn’t have to be a long list (think kids try to pad their resumes and that is not lost on AO’s), but they really need to be plugged into activity/job/service that they’re truly passionate. Our DD had just 2 key ECs (tennis and art…neither which have anything to do with her major) but she was involved in them 12 months of the year (easily 500+ hrs), did her volunteer hours in these 2 areas, earned top State ranks/awards in both (in comparison, Ivies seem to look for some kind of National recognition/award), and applied it to just one competitive summer immersion thing her Junior year (NC Governors school) which had such an impact she wrote her CA essay on (so highly recommend your younger kids pick a discipline and apply to this program early Junior year.) In fact, I had no idea how these activities “molded her” (sounds so cliche) until I reviewed her all her college supplements. Practically every supplement she wrote used her experiences in these two areas to justify her points… traveling to weekend tournaments to small towns (organization and diversity), behaviors of her competitors (coping mechanisms and ethics/honesty), how visual art made her acutely aware (living in moment/inspiration/culture/how to take and apply criticism), etc. I also think odd and quirky are very much valued (the days of conformity to the purported “model” student are gone!) Many of the schools that DD was accepted announced lists of interesting facts on their incoming students including circus performer, bee keeper, standup comedian, furniture builder, published screenwriter, ukelele player (which all sound really fun but for sure required dedication and training, math, science, literacy, etc.)