<p>It was a totally different world when I applied to college. I had a couple sports, worked on the school newspaper and maybe was in another club or two (hard to remember, since it was over 30 years ago). My only community service was tutoring inner city kids once a week. I did all of those things because I wanted to, with nary a thought of college admissions. During the summers I had a minimum wage retail job and did a lot of babysitting - because I wanted/needed the money, unrelated to college admissions. I did have a very high GPA, but my school didn’t have honors courses and there was only one AP course offered. There was nothing like dual enrollment. And this was a high school that sent 100% of its graduates to 4 year colleges. I was National Merit Commended, but I didn’t do any SAT prep at all and didn’t know anyone else who did. The first time I saw an SAT test of any kind was when I sat down in the test room. I wasn’t aiming for top schools; I only applied to the state flagship (Penn State) and the school down the road (Villanova) and I was accepted at both. There was no agonizing over essays - I think I completed all of my applications in less than 2 hours. </p>
<p>I cannot believe what kids go through today. I feel bad for my daughters who will be going through the process and who are already trying to figure out ECs, what their “passions” are, how to balance taking the honors courses with getting the highest unweighted GPA possible, etc. Of course, they’re going to be applying to schools I never would have dreamed of. I never even considered going out of state for undergrad. My parents, aunts and uncles and cousins had all gone to local schools and most had commuted. I don’t think any of my kids or their friends would consider commuting for a minute. It’s a two edged sword. They’re under more stress, but they have a lot more options and opportunities.</p>