"On the other hand, I know from some kids here in Dallas that a lot of kids do apply to Ivies and do not get accepted despite NMSF, straight A's and and AMC Honor Roll."
I think you are missing the point on who the tippy top colleges ARE accepting. They are looking for the kid who is smart enough, but also swims against the tide and has something special -- some special research experience, or has delved deeply into (and published) something important in an area like philosophy, or has won major national music competitions, or something like that. They get a ton of NMSF, straight A, AMC honor roll kids. So just because you know a bunch of them in Dallas who did not get in does NOT mean that they are favoring Jewish applicants just on the basis of their ethnicity/religion/last name, for crying out loud. The point is that they are not looking for the heads-down race-to-the-front-of-the-crowd-of-lemmings kid. They want the ones that are very bright, hardworking, but somehow off the beaten path in their accomplishments and interests. You gotta accomplish a lot to get in, but it is MUCH better to accomplish something unusual than just the standard school activites.
If you want to know how to get your kids into one of those schools, read Cal Newport's book "How to be a High School Superstar: A Revolutionary Plan to Get Into College By Standing Out (Without Burning Out)". His point is that competing head on in the same activities with tens of thousands of other students is not a good way to stand out. There are too many sports team captains, yearbook editors, student body presidents, validictorians, etc. If there are thousands of them in this country, that is not a recipe for success in admissions. Pick something hardly anyone else is doing and excel at that. THAT is the key to admissions to top colleges today, as long as you can keep your GPA at a reasonably high level (3.7 or 3.8 unweighted is fine) and score well on standardized tests.
Now... is it possible that one group or another based on geography, ethnicity, etc. has figured out this forumula and is overperforming on admissions because of it? Very possible. But I hear a lot of whining from parents who don't understand how the game is played today, and don't see why their kid with great statistics did not get in. THIS is why they didn't get in, not because someone stole their spot because their last name starts with Gold.
