My approval, and what I'd actually credit it to

Wanted to post a real account rather than just advice, since I found these more useful than generic tips when I was in the middle of my own case. To be clear up front: this is what happened in my specific case, not a prediction for anyone else's — every case is different, and I'm not claiming this formula works universally. I filed on four criteria: awards, published material about me, original contributions, and a leading role. In hindsight, my original-contributions section was doing the most work — it had the most specific, well-documented claim (a named technical contribution with independent evidence of adoption by two other teams outside my own organization) and the most detailed reference letters tied directly to that specific contribution rather than general praise. What I'd credit most, if I had to pick one thing: spending real time on the final-merits argument explicitly, not just assuming that meeting four criteria would speak for itself. I wrote a dedicated section of my personal statement connecting all four criteria into one coherent story about sustained recognition, rather than presenting them as four separate boxes checked.