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Right-- and the system as it stands is poised to mostly reward kids like mine (or those who can be made to LOOK that way, anyway)--

who can pack more than seems humanly possible into a day-- every day.

No..I don't believe this is true (again, go read that Cal Newport book recommended near the top of the thread). I think the admissions officers are aching for kids that are not just crammed so full of activities that they don't have time to breathe. There is a minimum they are looking for in GPA and test scores. But beyond that -- I think they want kids who are not "flat Stanleys". They want texture and evidence of true intellectual interest. My kid who got into Swarthmore, U of Chicago, Harvey Mudd, and Carleton last year had a 3.7 GPA (unweighted, her school does not weight or rank, and they can't take AP courses until senior year anyway). She had great test scores, but NO leadership. She was busy in high school, but a lot of the time was with activities that were not what everyone else was doing. And some things were outside of school (eg, entomology, took her collection to the State Fair through 4H).

Last edited by intparent; 07/16/13 04:49 PM.