I�m going to side step the whole China/Japan discussion (since I�m rather ignorant there! blush) and just say that I�ve seen first hand how one ivy-league institute decides which students are accepted. First they sort the applications into a few categories: Americans, Chinese, the rest of the world (their might have beens some sub-categories there but they were pretty much lumped together). Then they evaluate them against the others in their indivdual category. So, yes, if her sons were applyin from China it would make is harder due to high test scores there.

I guess, I�d suggest trying to find activities for her sons that are atypical of Chinese students. Maybe some internships? Study abroad? Emphasize native English speaking skills, etc...