When it comes to elite universities like Cambridge and Harvard, students often worry that they are not clever enough to get in. But the truth may not be as simple as that.
According to The Guardian, most applicants to top schools have equally perfect test scores. Voice of America (VOA) recently interviewed Julie Soper, an admissions officer for American University in Washington. Soper said she and her colleagues place a lot of weight on the way applicants present themselves in their personal statement essays. Personal charm may carry more weight than a straight A academic record. ，" she said.
Elite Reference recently interviewed a former admissions officer from Harvard and found that the school probably won't consider violin skills an advantage since they already have too many violin players. But if an applicant has mastered an instrument that only a few people can play, he or she might be able to gain an upper hand.
When James Keeler, the admissions tutor at Selwyn College, UK, went through a pile of essays for medical school candidates, one of them caught his eyes. "He's been volunteering with St John Ambulance, and also training to be a special policeman.
. He's clearly doing something worthwhile. He's currently volunteering at a care home. That's a tick for me," Keeler told The Guardian.
"Unfortunately, most essays fail to highlight what's unique about each applicant. Students are often obsessed with maintaining a faultless image of themselves and are afraid to show who they really are. They write an essay, and then it gets passed through the English teacher and the parents and the aunt and uncle and the guidance counselor. ," said Keeler.
A. We are eager to meet straight A students
B. By the time it gets to us, it's just so wonderful that it's hard to really get a sense of that person
C. We want them to be as individual as possible
D. In terms of extracurricular activities, universities are also looking for distinguish!ng excellencew
E. Students get rejected largely because they failed to shine as a person
F. No single student will be admitted unless they are academically top "A"
G. That's something I've never seen before
