I hear all the time about what a different ballgame it is now than it was when we applied. Why is this, exactly? Can someone explain? Is it because of the common applications that are now used--college get so many applications that they have to weed more assertively early on, so you have to stand out early in the game? Is it because more students are applying to college generally? It seems to me that the Ivies and the other good schools have just as many spots in their freshman classes as they always have, so why is it so much harder to get in now? Why the arms race? Is this a collegiate Flynn effect? What?

My 9yo can write a very nice little esssay right now. I'm sure she's going to write like a demon by 17. Both her parents were National Merit Scholars and she seems to be good at tests. She's going to be fabulous at any memorization-based schoolwork--which, let's face it, is a lot of high school. However, she has no sports talent and we're not forking over bucks for her to develop any fancy skills in anything else (music, dance, whatever) at this time. She's likely to volunteer heavily because she likes it. She's not much of a leader. Artsy.

I still think she could attend a selective small liberal arts college. I don't think Ivy unless she decided to really go apeshit with stuff in HS, but I don't know about that environment for her anyway. Our income puts us in the blue-collar zone.

I guess I don't feel a lot of hysteria about college. Am I kidding myself? Does she have to become a world-class Javanese gamelan player even if she is likely to be an excellent student with top SAT scores who can write a killer essay? Is it really THAT DIFFERENT? (Though, TBH, I still don't see us conducting our lives so differently even if it is. I just can't tell how much of this is hype and how much is real.)