Many applicants to the most selective university programs share high grades, high test scores, solid recommendations and generous doses of community service and volunteer activities. Yet, if they want to set themselves apart from the pool of exceptional students, a significant research experience in STEM or the social sciences helps.
Some students go into the admissions process with the strategy of declaring a strange, off-the-beaten-track type major that will bolster their chances of getting into a selective school which otherwise would likely reject their candidacy.
The idea is once they’re in they’ll change their major with the advantage of being in the system not outside of it. For most of the liberal arts colleges such as Middlebury, Pomona College, or Davidson, this strategy won’t work.
For those of you who enjoy strapping on your Rossignol Avengers and skiing down a slope just minutes after leaving your class in physics, or shouting in German, or any of the other 10 languages taught, across the slopes where the Adirondacks and Green Mountains shoulder up on either side of Lake Champlain, or just sitting in meticulous marble and limestone quads viewing alpine vistas on a clear autumn day, Middlebury, whether you’ve heard of it or not, is what you’re pining for.
Many consider the SAT Subject test one test too many. Most applicants to the very selective schools are already taking AP or IB exams, the ACT and/or SAT, and the CAHSEE (in California) to determine English and math competency. Why add the SAT Subject Tests to the burden? The UC Regents concur; they’re ending the SAT Subject Test requirement beginning the fall of 2012.
