1540 SAT Physics applicant accepted to Columbia, Swarthmore, Oxford

"Fit matters significantly in college admissions. Focus on schools where you can genuinely see yourself thriving. Essays should reveal something meaningful about you rather than being perfectly polished—authenticity matters more than perfection. You don't need insane ECs to get into top schools; softer abstract qualities like your way of thinking can be valued. The tone and manner in which you describe your ECs is important. Pay attention to what's explicitly or implicitly valued by each school based on their admissions websites, curriculum, and essay prompts."