I teach at a highly ranked(top 25) national university. Our admissions office is looking for strong academics AND extra activities that demonstrate deep involvement in one or more areas of real interest. Trying to be "well-rounded" with superficial involvement in a gazillion clubs and activities is less impressive.
Also, keep in mind that most colleges want a mix of talents each year. If we don't admit any violinists, what happens to the orchestra? We have talent scholarships for musicians, debaters, entrepreneurs, dancers, actors, visual artists etc. Depending on the college, students may not need to be planning to major in music, for example, to benefit in admissions by being a musician.
Our school offers a minor in dance (no major) but has a hand full of talent scholarships for dance. Every year we have accomplished dancers (ballet and other forms) performing in the dance company. They enjoy continuing dance in college before heading to Medical School, graduate school, and various careers.
Many other students don't receive talent scholarships, but may have helped their admission with the talents and interests they demonstrated.
So how does a genuine polymath who is-- well, a real kid-- demonstrate that they are polymaths with wide (but genuine) interests, and not just a dilettante looking to rack up a bonus score?
This has been something we've actually WORRIED a bit about with a student like my DD. Yes, she plays piano (she's not entering, much less WINNING national competitions), is an academically solid student (but not a "perfect" one), volunteers (but she hasn't actually launched her own NPO or run for city council at ten), etc. She does all of those things not because of what she thinks her resume needs (though that IS the reason we've given her for continuing piano lessons this final year of HS rather than switching instruments)-- she does them because she wants to do them.
We chose to emphasize the things that she has devoted the MOST hours to, and the things that she has wound up being most passionate about. But it is hard to say what the right thing is there. Your statement is precisely what sort of concerns me about DD on paper.
How do admissions committees tease apart which is which there?
