<p>macnyc...my s graduated from such a school...possibly the same one...and did just fine.</p>
<p>parents were always pushing for more, but wisely the gc resisted. 1) they couldn't possibly have processed more apps with the limited resources at their disposal and 2) they knew that while it might help an individual student, it would harm all of them collectively.</p>
<p>personally, i understood both sides of the argument and sided with the gc. and as for my s, the reality is that 1) he just barely found 7 schools that he wanted to apply to and 2) couldn't possibly have done a good job on the applications if there had been more.</p>
<p>the latter point is critical, too. there's too much emphasis on grades and test scores and not enough on the application, essays and interviews. there's much more to filling out an application than jotting a blurb in the blanks. good ones tell a story from beginning to end. over the next few days, there are going to be a lot of students and parents wondering why person A got in while person B didn't. in many cases, we'll never know, because the answer is in the app and not the stats.</p>