i would bet, from reading through a lot of fourm posts, that around 50-60 percent of those really special applicants are only parents wanting to feel better about themselves and their kids... those 50 hours of diabetes research equates to maybe a class project or something. stated class rank = actual class rank - a couple, etc.
parents seem to be in the majority at cc... thats why i like it here where the posters are almost always students who are genuinely interested in the questions they are asking (not saying they dont pad their stats a bit though lol)