<p>Alayna Rodriguez, 17, picks Harvard over Stanford</p>
<p>"George said he is proud of his daughter. "She has always challenged herself and doesn't take the easy road," he said. "She applied to over a dozen colleges and was accepted by all of them. She could have gone to Stanford and it would have been easier for her because she is familiar with California and we have family in the area but she chose Harvard because she said it was out of her comfort zone."</p>
<p>Um.. What is your point?</p>
<p>I believe it is important for potential applicants to read about the type of people who gain admission, and the type of accomplishments that are rewarded, particularly for applicants from areas that do not traditionally send many applicants to elite schools.</p>
<p>Sometimes the admits whose stories are told by local papers - in big towns and small - are "superstars", and sometimes they are not. In any event, it gives some guidance to the scores of people posting "chances" threads.</p>
<p>"over a dozen colleges" hmmm....</p>