@ Bostonian — I took it as a given that recruited athletes are in a separate category. Thanks for the article - it was also linked
by gwern on Less Wrong. The reason that this issue had eluded me is that our advisees to date haven't been involved with the activities described. As for other things, the general view that the nature of the extracurricular activity doesn't matter has been expressed by people other than admissions officers, for example
by Cal Newport.
@playandlearn -
(1) What criteria do you think they use?
(2) I don't know how sensitive colleges are to this, but there are always greater levels of depth, and sufficiently deep involvement in something consumes all of one's time, regardless of how impressive one is.
(3) We list some considerations in favor of going to an elite college at our page
College selection: factors to consider.
@ Val — What criteria do you think they use?
