I'll also say that a good many C-type parents are stunned to see just how much the landscape has shifted under them since they were applying themselves. They really thought it was mostly talk from hyperventilating helicopter parents and that it would be relatively low-stress for THEM, because, well, they already knew what college admissions were like, having done it themselves once upon a time.

It wasn't all Kool-Aid then. I'm convinced of that.

The other horrifying thing is that most institutions now want the value of assets like your residence, your retirement savings, etc. in calculating your child's "need" for assistance in writing checks to the tune of 45-70K annually.

I don't know too many middle class-- even UMC-- families that can do that. It feels extortive, frankly.


Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.