I don’t think most people find packaging to be bad…any essay is in some way your child’s packaging. What is more offensive is when people say that the make a kid define their activities for the next X number of years based upon what a parent or hired gun thinks will get them into the right school. In my district you now have 11 year olds meeting with “career counselors” so that they can pick the right middle school focus to lead to HS (all public) that leads…well leads to HYPSM because everything else is failure.
Sigh.