Recommend your favorite college admissions content creators

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have found @tineocollegeprep on TikTok to be the best. He has a lot of reported student data from the current admissions cycle and posts videos analyzing trends. He also offers a lot of great (and free!) advice in his videos about supplemental essays, commonapp, extracurriculars, and frequently makes instagram story posts highlighting activities, awards, and ECs for students to get involved in. I also personally love how he works with a small cohort of students and is big on FGLI support.

He talks as if he has a huge client list (I'm seeing...), but I think he's scouring reddit forums.

No, he works with few people. Hand picked based on how much he thinks he can help them. And all of his data comes from students reporting it to him via a google form where they share stats, ECs, and college results. From there he analyzes trends based on said reported data.

Yes, my kid voluntarily reports data to that Google form. used his templates for activities.

Mine too. I think it's nice to have someone sum up the current trends so everything is a bit clearer in this difficult process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

Yeah, he thinks varsity sports are a waste of time unless you are a recruited athlete. While I disagree, I understand that his focus is on maximizing activities that support the application hook. The trade off for my kid not doing sports wouldn't be worth it because of the many benefits it brings her (e.g., joy, mental health boost, physical activity). It won't be a central part of her application but she will definitely include it on the common app.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

His clients/ kids have more time consuming and higher profile activities than V golf.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have found @tineocollegeprep on TikTok to be the best. He has a lot of reported student data from the current admissions cycle and posts videos analyzing trends. He also offers a lot of great (and free!) advice in his videos about supplemental essays, commonapp, extracurriculars, and frequently makes instagram story posts highlighting activities, awards, and ECs for students to get involved in. I also personally love how he works with a small cohort of students and is big on FGLI support.

He talks as if he has a huge client list (I'm seeing...), but I think he's scouring reddit forums.

No, he works with few people. Hand picked based on how much he thinks he can help them. And all of his data comes from students reporting it to him via a google form where they share stats, ECs, and college results. From there he analyzes trends based on said reported data.

Yes, my kid voluntarily reports data to that Google form. used his templates for activities.

Mine too. I think it's nice to have someone sum up the current trends so everything is a bit clearer in this difficult process.

Does he share who gives him info? Male vs female, locations, kinds of programs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:On the Podcast front, I enjoy College Beat (Dartmouth Head of Admissions) and College Admissions with Mark and Anna.

The Game, which many have mentioned, is excellent but aimed at a very specific audience, and I’ve sometimes found it a little bit sobering as a result.

One I stumbled across and enjoyed - same audience as for The Game but with a bit softer edge - is College with Mattie. Haven’t seen that one mentioned on DCUM.

lol you must be Mattie!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have found @tineocollegeprep on TikTok to be the best. He has a lot of reported student data from the current admissions cycle and posts videos analyzing trends. He also offers a lot of great (and free!) advice in his videos about supplemental essays, commonapp, extracurriculars, and frequently makes instagram story posts highlighting activities, awards, and ECs for students to get involved in. I also personally love how he works with a small cohort of students and is big on FGLI support.

He talks as if he has a huge client list (I'm seeing...), but I think he's scouring reddit forums.

No, he works with few people. Hand picked based on how much he thinks he can help them. And all of his data comes from students reporting it to him via a google form where they share stats, ECs, and college results. From there he analyzes trends based on said reported data.

Yes, my kid voluntarily reports data to that Google form. used his templates for activities.

Mine too. I think it's nice to have someone sum up the current trends so everything is a bit clearer in this difficult process.

Does he share who gives him info? Male vs female, locations, kinds of programs?

Mostly things like students from X region had a more difficult time, I see lots of admits for Z major but not Y, students with a specific EC were largely admitted, etc. Not much about gender/race/identity demographics and moreso student profiles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SH doesn’t like people to report 4s on the APs. We disregarded this advice because our school counselor said to 100% submit. Worked out for our DC. Their school requires students to take the AP test if enrolled in the class, so not submitting sends a message to the AO that you bombed the test. SH says they can’t unsee a 4.

So true! We followed Sara’s advice not to report 4s but I think that was wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many of them are really negative -- sometimes overtly. If they have Ivy in their name or only talk about the T20, I don't think they're good advisors.

If they have an adversarial relationship (or no relationship at all) with AOs and school counselors, I don't trust them.

I’d love to shed some light on this. Some IECs love to focus on just a few schools. That means they know them inside and out and don’t have to build college lists for their students.

IECs don’t care about schools knowing - the problem is the school counselors get mad and might hold it against the student. Why on earth would an IEC have any kind of relationship with an AO?

You seem very old-fashioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

I completely agree that it’s bad advice to leave off sports. With all of these pointy candidates, people start to become one-dimensional. Sports (or music, arts, theater, whatever) help show another side to the applicant.

To his point, sports become a huge time suck and can detract from academics. My kid‘s coaches didn’t always care whether athletes had exams or other priorities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No to Sara Haberson. Thankfully my DS did not take her advice on a number of issues - did the opposite. Ended up at a HYPSM.

Thus, us too

Advice on what? APs? Most ppl no to disregard her advice on 4s there.

I noticed in the link someone posted yesterday for Dr. Hoffman‘s YouTube videos on what an admissions committee process is like, he also had links to going through top 10 mistakes in a common app. One of them he said was forgetting to mention non-academic national level or regional level awards in your honors section - if you have nothing else.

I know Sara’s doesn’t like that, but I’ve now heard from numerous former admissions officers that they are OK with seeing non-academic honors in that space. Did anyone else not follow Sara‘s advice on this point?

She was very unclear on this in AN. Two students had the same award from different regions. She told one to put it in Honors and the other to put it in ECs. Would not give a reason for the contradictory advice, I do not remember details but maybe one had fewer academic awards so it was ok to list it in Honors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So many of them are really negative -- sometimes overtly. If they have Ivy in their name or only talk about the T20, I don't think they're good advisors.

If they have an adversarial relationship (or no relationship at all) with AOs and school counselors, I don't trust them.

I’d love to shed some light on this. Some IECs love to focus on just a few schools. That means they know them inside and out and don’t have to build college lists for their students.

IECs don’t care about schools knowing - the problem is the school counselors get mad and might hold it against the student. Why on earth would an IEC have any kind of relationship with an AO?

You seem very old-fashioned.

Bc if you do a lot of successful applications for four or five T20 schools you start to see patterns. And you start to figure out what works and what doesn’t work. I can see it myself with just my two kids and helping my nephews.

If I wanted to help anyone in this process, there’s no way I would do more than the schools I have successful experience with. It makes sense why professional counselors might focus on a small subset of schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

Yeah, he thinks varsity sports are a waste of time unless you are a recruited athlete. While I disagree, I understand that his focus is on maximizing activities that support the application hook. The trade off for my kid not doing sports wouldn't be worth it because of the many benefits it brings her (e.g., joy, mental health boost, physical activity). It won't be a central part of her application but she will definitely include it on the common app.

From a college application perspective, they sort of are.

The 10-20 hours a week you spend on sports can be used more effectively in other ways.
But varsity sports are great for other things.
Learning teamwork, sportsmanship, how to earn your playtime, how to be a leader, how to make adjustments instead of excuses, how to deal with frustration, how to deal with losing, how to deal with winning, etc. The value of sports in building the college application isn't high but the value of sports in building the adult is priceless.

Starting some non-profit and getting your name on so research paper looks better on a common app but the value of a man is not measured by the common app.

[Anonymous]

I think the point with the ivy-centric post is that that IEC's advice is only for the people who actually want to go to those kinds of schools. You could be having your kid jump through hoops that don't even exist if they are targeting flagships or small Jesuit schools, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:none of them as they're all just peddling on parental anxiety and control.

we are passing on complexes to our kids. lots of mental health issues affecting them right now.

+1

They are all horrible.

NP. The reason I like the Game is he gives good actionable advice on his podcast for FREE.

Most content creators give you teasers so you sign up, or say controversial things to get clicks, or just talk about Higher Ed trends which, while interesting, is different than giving concrete advice.

But in general, I agree, the whole college prep/content/counseling industry is predatory.

The more “difficult” they make the application process seem, the more they convince parents to spend money on advice or buy their products. This goes for authors, podcasters, bloggers, independent college consultants.

They’re just trying to make a living and the rotating wheel of parents is their paycheck.

I have a love/hate relationship with The Game. I have to remind myself he is really targeting Ivy/T10 bc after listening to a few episodes (including one of the full applicant profile breakdown), I started to wonder how anyone actually gets into college. My kid has some great things going on for her (1500+ SAT, solid and focused ECs, leadership) but no "Regeneron level" awards, no independent research, and has not taken absolutely every AP at her school. For us regular folk, here are some of my biggest takeaways...

1. Students make it easier for admissions officers to get a sense of who they are when your profile tells a clear story (e.g., course selection, extra curriculars). Being intentional about this matters.

2. How you organize and present info in the common app matters. Use action verbs to describe what you did (e.g., avoid things like "participated with...")

3. Get the SAT out of the way early in Junior year if possible (EXCELLENT advice for those ready to tackle it bc I can already see how her Junior spring is going to be crazy)

4. Look at the common data sets for the schools of interest; this will help you to know the nitty gritty of admissions data (e.g., Brown might have more women identifying students applying so this makes the acceptance rates a bit more competitive for females).

Honestly, this is info that is probably consistent across podcasts. I have stopped listening to it as much because I don't find it helpful to hear, "I'm sorry, your kid has not cured cancer, they are f*cked." (Even if it's true.)

See I don’t think some of his stuff is that far out there. Maybe STEM? If so, I ignore or don’t listen.

What he did for the candidate who was interested in Asian literatures and languages at Yale and Stanford was a super helpful breakdown. The activities weren’t that crazy either. Yes super high stats, but expected.

What was most interesting was getting rid of some of the original activities (that didn’t support the new narrative) in the activity list and adding in other overlooked interests/activities, including identity, affinity, or personal cultural group involvement.

I think it's insane that the guy from the Game would recommend someone who played 4 years of varsity golf to leave it off of their application altogether. When their recommenders mention golf or when he mentions it in an essay, it will be super weird if he failed to include it because it did not go with his narrative. My kids play varsity sports and it is by far the most time consuming activity (~20 hours a week during season, including travel to away games, etc.)

Yeah, he thinks varsity sports are a waste of time unless you are a recruited athlete. While I disagree, I understand that his focus is on maximizing activities that support the application hook. The trade off for my kid not doing sports wouldn't be worth it because of the many benefits it brings her (e.g., joy, mental health boost, physical activity). It won't be a central part of her application but she will definitely include it on the common app.

From a college application perspective, they sort of are.

The 10-20 hours a week you spend on sports can be used more effectively in other ways.
But varsity sports are great for other things.
Learning teamwork, sportsmanship, how to earn your playtime, how to be a leader, how to make adjustments instead of excuses, how to deal with frustration, how to deal with losing, how to deal with winning, etc. The value of sports in building the college application isn't high but the value of sports in building the adult is priceless.

Starting some non-profit and getting your name on so research paper looks better on a common app but the value of a man is not measured by the common app.

This is the cliché move at TJ; DD said so many kids start nonprofits that it's even a joke among the students. I know some of them actually do things with that non-profit but many are only in it for the college hook. From what I've read/heard, most AOs can see through this pretty quickly if it is superficial. (Before anyone pops off, my kid is not starting a non-profit and I don't have beef with kids who do. Just sharing an observation.)