<p>I think the OP is right to raise these issues, and I particularly agree with OP's statement, "I've been reading posts on CC for awhile, and I have ended up feeling quite sympathetic to the applicants' frequent comments about what they are going through."</p>
<p>The stress put on some kids by parents who think that anything but admission to an Ivy (or Ivy-equivalent) constitutes failure - and the pressure put on kids by the kids themselves, who have internalized these values - is clearly of great concern.</p>
<p>But I don't think the answer lies primarily in changing the way colleges approach admissions. While not perfect, I think they do a pretty good job. The problem is that, when 80-90+% of the applicants to Ivy league schools are rejected, no matter what the admissions criteria, students (and parents) who believe that admission to an Ivy is the only standard of success are going to feel huge amounts of pressure.</p>
<p>In addition, no matter how often colleges try to explain that perfect SAT's, perfect grades, ever-growing numbers of EC's and AP's, and ever-escalating resume building, are not necessary for admission to elite schools, there will be some number of students and parents who won't believe them. And I think that number is disproportionately represented on this board. :)</p>
<p>When one sees an applicant with eye-popping stats get deferred or rejected from Harvard (or any other elite school), I would take that as evidence that the admissions committee looks at more than numbers. But others take it as evidence that they have to be even more perfect in order to be admitted. This is not the message that colleges are sending when you talk to their representatives (or look at their websites). But it is the message that some number of students/parents are hearing.</p>