<p>My son and I discussed–entirely theoretically, of course–whether the top 30 or so kids in his class could have improved their college admissions results by colluding on who would apply where. We concluded that it would be too difficult, and the trust requirements would be too great.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing. My kids attended a privat high school on academic scholarships. There was a guidance counselor. She recommended my son with breathtaking stats target a neighbor public U as his “reach”. He is now at Harvard with a ridiculous gpa in a “hard” field. Moral of the story: Never trust the guidance counselor - public, private or non-existant. Do your own legwork. Son told us he was viable at the most selective schools; we would have never envisioned it. This is mostly about the kid. Inititiative, vision, that stuff.</p>