Where else should we look?

momrath
Mon, 05 Jul 2010 05:32:14 +0000

koolfish, I would say the value of “talent” in admissions depends on the school. For large universities and some of the mid-sized privates, forget about it.

But many small LACs really do view applicants holistically and what I call subjectives – talent, demographics, extracurriculars, recommendations – can offset weakness in statistics like grades, scores and rank.

Again, the weighting of a specific talent can depend on the individual school. All schools have orchestras, theaters and art departments, but some recruit more heavily into those areas. Williams and Wesleyan put a lot more focus on artist/musicians/actors than some of the equally selective LACs like Amherst or Swarthmore.

Especially at small schools it helps to fill more than one category – e.g., an artist from an under-represented demographic. This applies even if the student doesn’t intend to major in art (or music or theater).

I don’t mean to disregard the importance of grades and rank at the more selective and academically focused schools. The student still needs to be within the band; however, I believe that you’ll see some tolerance for lopsided (or even low) scores if s/he has a demonstrated talent and it is well presented in his/her application.