1) My honest answer to your question, after reading this NYT articles "confessions of an application reader" (Aug. 1st, 2013), is: I don't know. I think I have a good idea of the minimum requirements, but beyond that, I can't articulate any. There are lots of college acceptance stats online, which will give people some ideas, but I haven't studied those much since my older one is still in middle school.
2) Yes, there can always be more depth. But college admissions likely will only compare an applicant against other applicants, instead of an objective standard.
3) I agree. I wouldn't stop my kids if they can get in an elite college. My view, though, is that an elite college is neither sufficient nor necessary for career success or personal happiness. For a lot of students, though, it could help.
In other words, I want my kids to focus on building skills and mentality to become who they want to be. If these get them into elite colleges, that's wonderful. But I wouldn't let them choose activities just because they might look like on college applications.
