<p>My son is a high school junior this year. (class 2007) </p>
<p>He said that the 90 member junior class is in an up-roar about their recent PSAT scores (NM ranking), finding the "best" SAT prep course, getting "enough" and "the right" commmunity service in and picking "impressive" extra-cirricular activities and summer enrichment programs as (his words) "application fodder." </p>
<p>I asked him if the students who were freaked out seemed to have pressure parents. He said that many did, but that it was amazing the degree to which the student himself talked as if not getting into the "right school" was a real, and life-long FAILURE. </p>
<p>Sadly, part of this process even started as soph when the class received their PSAT's for that year. One student's parents made him study all last summer for the junior year PSAT!!!</p>
<p>The insanity of the admissions process extends far beyond the senior year.</p>
<p>One story and one thought:
1. An unintended consequence of the competition for ECs in high school: students are competing almost viciously for leadership posts in some clubs at my daughter's school. They say life is high school; unfortunately, sometimes high school merely reflects life, where resume-building and "leadership" titles become more precious than true leadership or consensus building.
2. MIT and similar college truly need people like Ms. Jones to add balance and to serve as their consciences. Good for her for being a leader.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree about the need for more transparency. An example of this at our high school is the naviance site, which is used by students to compare colleges and determine their fit. Our school has had several productive recruiting years for our football team and many of them have gone on to play for colleges. A handful are attending Ivys and many more at other LACs. If someone were to look at the average GPA and SAT for our school at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, theyd think a 3.5 and a 1200 was fine and dandy. Now thats an extreme example, but this problem trickles down to all colleges, including smaller colleges and publics. Kids see themselves as matches, even safeties, at colleges that are really reaches. The guidance counselors try to steer them away, but because of confidentiality, they cant come out and tell anyone whats really behind the numbers. Basically the site is useless because most of the stats are understated. If this is the case at our school, I assume it is the case on a grander scale at the universities represented. Which leads one to wonder, why bother publishing stats at all if the stats are skewed and misleading?</p>