Val,
My nephew's comment about pointy people was something told to him by someone in Yale (it's been a few years so I can't remember who it was).
Think of it a different way. The most selective colleges have plenty of kids that can succeed academically at their college, to the point where have to refuse about 80% of the academically capable kids.
So what makes an admissions officer say "We want this kid" over the many others with similar test scores and grades? Will it be the well-rounded kid from an upper-middle class family that dabbles in five different activities?
Or will it be the kid that achieved exceptional grades despite being shuttled around six different foster homes? Or the kid from a highly under-represented demographic. Or the exceptional oboe player that can replace the graduating senior. Or the kid that won the USAMO gold medal? Or the girl with crew ERG times better than anyone. Those are accomplishments that admissions people can point to to choose one child over another.
Now, this really only happens at the 25-50 most selective colleges, and people can make a very good case that this competition is not good for most kids. That is an altogether different discussion.
Anyway, I don't want to hijack this thread any further so I may start a new thread about this soon.
