What Some Top Schools Look For
Disclaimer: This post does not represent any office of undergraduate admissions and is solely my personal opinion based on observation from people I helped. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. I’ll try to keep this succinct :)
Harvard: Famous or prominent. Think: “Google this person and I will see articles about them”
Yale: Make USAMO or higher/STS T300/iPhO/IBO/etc., or do well STEM wise and you’ll have a good shot at a likely letter. Also, Yale’s suitemate essay is very, very important.
Princeton: Highly value test scores (part of why REA was canceled this year). Try to get a 1560+, particularly if you are otherwise unhooked.
Penn: Debate, debate, debate, debate. This is not concrete evidence but 100% of my friends at Penn did well in high school debate (multiple TOC bids). n=9
UCLA: Grades. Top 2-3% of your class in both UW and W GPA with decent ECs should get you in for the most part.
Berkeley: Much more leeway for stats, unlike UCLA (in my experience). Highly values participation and decent tournament success in Speech/Debate.
Stanford: Highly values excellence in research for STEM students. GPA leeway exists much more than HYP.
MIT: “Come at us with a stacked STEM resume with decent essays and you’ll get in, likely” (Olympiad Camp, RSI, SSP, etc.).
CMU SCS: They love multiple AIME qualifications and other olympiad awards. CMU as a whole highly values testing too. SCS avg. SAT is ~1580.
UChicago: Deep interest in two completely different academic disciplines (ex: CS & Philosophy)
Rice: Eagle Scouts / Gold Award.
Columbia: Someone who loves literature (CC is not fun if you don’t like reading!!).
Good luck 2022!!
