<p>2007mom - I agree with you that kids don’t have fun anymore but I disagree with you about kids taking easier courses junior and senior year. Or, maybe that is why my son was waitlisted at 7 colleges - he has a afew Bs in some very hard courses. This year he played two varsity sports, held leadership positions in some clubs/activities and took 7 majors - not an easy year at all. I also don’t agree that the parents are to blame. We live just outside of Boston. Years ago my son would have had no problem getting into a school in the Boston area. Now, he is “too common” to be selected for an acceptance. Since we have too many qualified MA applicants for colleges in our geographic area, our students have to apply to schools far away to get into a similar quality school! Who shall we blame for the idea that local kids can’t get into local schools - parents? Should we blame schools that believe their mission in life is to have representation from every state and country or parents who are willing to pay for the application fees (?). </p>
<p>I think we should stop blaming parents and kids as though applying to college after so many years of hard work was only about achieving a brand name - my son did not apply to HPSY…he just wanted to get a degree in engineering from a school with reasonable engineering facilities and reasonably qualified professors with opportunities for research, closer to home if possible. He also wanted to be with students who are excited about learning - being among peers in that regard is important to some kids. Every college is NOT the same, regardless of what everyone here says. </p>
<p>I loved my high school years - I believe kids today are getting shortchanged -Hanging around with your friends afterschool 1 to 3 days/week is not a recipe for failure. When kids ultimately get to college they have classes a few hours a day and 1 to 2 activities - why the madness of cramming every minute of the day in order to get into college? This madness is not driven by parents or students - it’s driven by the schools and the demographics.</p>