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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am writing as the parent of two college grads (one with a graduate degree) who were two completely different kinds of students.  Each is successfully "launched" -- self-supporting in a job that he/she enjoys overall.
This angst in the D.C. area is very overblown (my kids were in a different location for the first half of their childhood; here for the second).
Fact (and I've read all the books!):  Experts list 100 to 200 colleges as offering top-notch educations for the best students.  My DD went to one of those; my DS went to an excellent, supportive liberal arts college that was perfect for him.
Fact:  It's not really a "screwed-up system" -- it's a screwed up D.C.-area way of looking at things.  Admittedly, it is difficult not to get caught up in the competition, but remember -- come September if your DD or DS is enrolled in college, it won't matter any more where he did or did not get in (that is, if he or she doesn't have hysterical parents and friends).
Fact:  Yes, tutoring and other things may help a bit, but only in limited circumstances.  Colleges and universities understand the different schools and geographic areas that high school students are applying from.  For example, my DD had very strong grades in tough classes, but her PSAT scores weren't great, so she enrolled in an SAT prep class, and that did help.  But, if the classes she chose and the grades in those classes hadn't been very strong, that would have helped very little.
By the way, I visited Carleton and Macalester with my DD -- fantastic schools!  It was snowing in October; she ended up applying early somewhere else.  If I remember correctly, Macalester is very strong with need-based aid.  Really, you could get a wonderful education at so many places such as the Honors programs at many state universities  (just as an example).  You would find many other extremely bright students who could not afford to go anywhere else there.

Most of all, I feel bad for the students who are put under such pressure.  A good work ethic and resilience will carry you far, wherever you attend college.  I just tried to shield my kids as best I could from the whole thing when they were seniors in high school.  They also were allowed to (gasp!) do social things and just enjoy themselves sometimes (of course, there is a lot of growth and maturation that goes on during the high school years in many ways -- not just cognitively).[/quote]

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