Kool said:It seems as if I might have thrown out the Apple of Discord in this thread. Lots of good discussion about the process. I seem to be in the same position as other posters here in this thread. Your responses, AvantGarde, are great and well appreciated. There is definitely a lot of angst that I have seen (and will probably see more of) from parents. I've got a child who is in the same position as many kids others have discussed here. In America, we like to think we live in a meritocracy, but it's sadly not the case. When your kid puts out a ton of effort and succeeds and really wants to spend four years of their life somewhere but they're blocked from their dreams, it can be disheartening.AvantGarde-CollegePrep said:
There is a lot of angst on this thread about the process. It is this way because the application numbers for these schools are too large (and they get bigger each year), and the game is amplified with each passing year because there are simply more resources available to students. I strongly recommend that families stop focusing on something they cannot control. You can't change it. However, you can manage the academic grades, rigor, test scores, and how well you assemble their college resume. And at the very least, if your student falls short of one of these schools, plenty of colleges will reward them for their hard work.
I have yet to meet a smart white kid that hasn't gotten into a good school.