Albirea
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17 Jun 2012, 11:08 pm
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17 Jun 2012, 11:09 pm
Well, that's kind of a hard question to answer. I'll break it down:
Some applicants get in because they're REALLY good at something, for example, athletics, music, a particular field of science, etc. For science, if they've discovered or made something groundbreaking, it's almost an automatic admit unless they're really lacking in other areas. These people have won NUMEROUS awards, preferably at the national/international levels, although state and local level awards gain points with admissions too.
Other applicants get in by overcoming severe obstacles. Coming from a disadvantaged background, working a job, etc. gains respect from admissions because they know that being socioeconomically disadvantaged is hard, and that working a job takes a lot of time commitment. Balancing working and studying is certainly not easy. Harvard has admitted 2 previously homeless students because of their willingness to work and not become discouraged.
Some write really good, moving essays, but that is often complemented with top-notch academics, test scores, activities, etc.
Some others show an uncanny interest in their dream school, and show it in their applications. This is very related to the above point.
Other factors, unfortunately, include things such as the applicant's race and location. Because of huge achievement gaps between different demographics, elite schools use an affirmative action policy to admit students. For example, an African-American or Hispanic needs lower average test scores and grades to get into an elite college than white students, and Asians (yep, that's us) need significantly higher qualifications than any other racial group to get in. This is because achievement levels differ dramatically within these racial groups, and it is a sad fact that the achievement gap exists in the first place.
But arguably the most important thing a college looks for is a passion for learning. This is particularly true at colleges that explicitly advertise that - UChicago and MIT, for example, but it is pretty much equally important in other elite schools as well. An applicant that shows this take every opportunity possible to explore their academic interests (however, academic non-interests should not have low grades either), such as internships, out-of-school research, etc. as well as high grades and test scores for those interests. For Aspies, if a special interest is academic, this is actually an advantage we have over NT's!
Gah! So it is true! They make the standards higher for Asians??
I heard it's partially because colleges like diversity.
Ah, a passion for learning! I got that one! Most of my special interests are academic.
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Albirea
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17 Jun 2012, 11:13 pm
AHH, I just wrote a whole essay, didn't I. 
Just to be safe, commit more of your time to "officially recognized" activities that pertain to your interests, such as internships and research. Researching stuff as a hobby generally won't get you anywhere unless people know about it, for example, if your work gets published, or even if it gets on the news. That's still something.
EDIT: They say that an Asian needs an average of 200 SAT I points higher than a Caucasian student to get in to an Ivy. I don't know if that's true, but it definitely sounds plausible using statistical analysis.
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17 Jun 2012, 11:17 pm
It is a very helpful essay though.
Ah, of course. I'll keep that in mind.
Well that's tad unfair. 
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Albirea
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17 Jun 2012, 11:25 pm
Sempiternal
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17 Jun 2012, 11:35 pm
Same here, but I guess that from an Asian student who scored very well on the SATs wouldn't stand out as much as someone from another race?
Still, if someone did well in school, they shouldn't be judging that person by their race.
On another topic, three more questions and I'm finished with unit two of my WHAP summer homework!
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Albirea
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17 Jun 2012, 11:38 pm
Correct. It's an "icing" item for other minorities, while for Asians, it is a prerequisite.
For colleges, though, it's either doing what's fair or risk being stigmatized as a "rich, white/Asian school".
And, YAAAAAAY!! !! 
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17 Jun 2012, 11:45 pm
True, true.
Plus, I heard that even though Asians make up 2% of the U.S. population, they make up about 15% (I think) of the college population in the U.S. I used to think that 2% was much larger when I was little, because I saw Asian people everywhere. But one day, I searched up the demographics for America and was extremely surprised.
YUP! So I don't get a *WHAP* today, even though I didn't work on it at all yesterday!
Whoops. Did I just say that?
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17 Jun 2012, 11:56 pm
My vision is kind of blurry...
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17 Jun 2012, 11:56 pm
Are you feeling okay?
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17 Jun 2012, 11:58 pm
Quite.
As long as I don't walk into anything
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18 Jun 2012, 12:01 am
Ah.
Well hopefully that doesn't happen then.
I finished unit two!
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18 Jun 2012, 12:02 am
Yay!
The unit must feel so happy that it was finally finished?
I know it's homework but we can pretend it has feelings too even though it's probably just a bunch of paper
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18 Jun 2012, 12:05 am
Actually, it was half the size of unit one, but it means I'm one step closer to finishing my WHAP homework. Then it's on to English!
It should be! Even though I'm the one doing the work for it.
I remember this one guy in sixth grade who kept telling me in this weird accent that paper has feelings.
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18 Jun 2012, 12:08 am
It should be! Even though I'm the one doing the work for it.
I remember this one guy in sixth grade who kept telling me in this weird accent that paper has feelings.
Ah, alright.
hehe
Let me guess...he was a little more serious than I am?
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18 Jun 2012, 12:11 am
Hmm... he was still very silly, but most likely he's more serious than you?
Well, I wouldn't say more serious, just less silly, if that makes sense.
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