Most of the questions in the past few days have been about how we would like to view your information, or how "best" to fill out different sections or send in different things. Or even whether to send in some things, such as video clips.
You should fill out any section or any information in the way that it makes the most sense to you. Colleges cannot tell you what makes the most sense because it is your life you are talking about. There is always a wide gulf between the writer and the reader. The gulf is kind of scary, especially when it is so apparent in something as important as a college application. However, it's always supposed to be there.
So, here is what I'm trying to say:
1) It kind of doesn't matter how you fill out the Activities section. Fill it out and ask "is it clear? is it accurate? is it me?" If not, change it. This is how your entire application should be filled out.
2) There is no way we will read your application exactly the way you intended to write it, because that never happens. It never has and it never will.
3) The application reader can't decide whether you should include something because we don't know what it is. Only you know what it is. You can't control how we read something, but you can control what you choose to include. However, when it comes to sending in supplemental materials, these materials almost never change a decision into something it wouldn't already have been.
How do I know what you have received?
Later in the fall, we will turn on a feature called Credentials Checking on the online application. There you will see what we have received in support of your application, including test scores.
I want to apply early action, but you won't have my senior grades or certain test scores.
The test scores really don't matter. I wouldn't change deadlines just so we can have more test scores, especially not SAT II tests, which we do not see anyway.
It is true we won't have your senior grades. If you haven't always been the best student, you will probably be deferred from early action so that we can see better senior grades. If better senior grades would make a huge difference in your file, it may be to your benefit to apply regular notification.
