Originally Posted by Val
Who defines the best of the best? The SAT? Grades? Recommendation letters? All you get in a system like this is an arms race weighted toward stressed-out tiger cubs. No thank you.

What do you suggest as an alternative, Val?

The tiger mom/cub arms race already exists today, but fortunately the percentage is relatively small. My kids attend a quite competitive school district and even here most kids just have fun during the summer.

If college were free, the percentage would increase, but I don't see the US becoming like Korea or Japan. For better or worse, most parents don't emphasize education that highly.