<p>I actually wish they’d drop “character” as a criterion, or at least make some attempt to set objective standards for what that means. When d2 was a junior, a good friend of hers wasn’t admitted, despite the fact that she’s a great kid with a caring, generous nature and hours of significant volunteer service. She was pretty obviously kept out because she publicly challenged a teacher, widely acknowledged to be incompetent, about repeated instances of losing assignments and being unprepared to lecture. And it couldn’t have helped that her mom had an adversarial relationship with the administration. BUT! Another classmate was admitted and eventually elected an officer, despite cheating that was obvious to his classmates. He confronted my kid about her refusal to let him see her quizzes, and was forgiven by the teacher when my d told her about it. And, most disturbing of all, he was one of those awful kids who ridiculed the special needs students by “imitating” them in the hallways. How did he get through the admit process?</p>