Reply to Why is there such a difference in advice in this forum vs. tweens/teens?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's pretty clear that most parents posting here are well away of what it takes to get into even a T100 university these days: high unweighted GPA, great standardized test scores, leadership EC's, etc. But the prevailing feeling in the other forum seems to be, "Let your kids have fun and be themselves, and they'll land where they land." Is this just a self-selecting group of posters, or is something else going on?[/quote]

Those two statements are not contradictory! 
My kids did what they wanted for sports or arts in elementary and middle school, 1-2 weekdays then it shifted to more once in 7th because there are after school no-cut sports or yoga at their school. They did a lot of splashing at the pool or sleepovers with friends in summer, or day camps they liked. One changed activities a ton and then one or two became the focus toward the end of middle and mostly stayed in high school. The other had a favorite from very early on and the commitment the organization required was 4 days a week starting in 6th grade/middle school, more as older. 
They also read a lot, taught themselves different art or cooking things and just had fun on weekends and summer. No tutors, no kumon or whatever. No travel teams because there was no interest in that level of sport or those types.
So they did exactly as you say:spent middle school having fun and were themselves. That carried into high school. Both had freshman activities they dropped some time later, replaced by things they liked better.  favorite subjects shifted a lot.
 Both landed at top 10s not because they curated and aimed for it since middle, but because they followed their own interests and also happen to be very smart & were placed by teachers in the highest levels their whole schooling career. 
Read MIT applying sideways which we never knew about until ours were in high school/applying to college: they can be themselves and land where they land! That is as it should be. [/quote]

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