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I grew up not terribly well off and I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that college admission depended on extracurriculars and such - I never really though

I grew up not terribly well off and I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that college admission depended on extracurriculars and such - I never really thought much about that until I grew up, did relatively well for myself and had my own kids. Then I found out just how much these extracurriculars cost and how much parental guidance is involved in sticking with them. My kids did sports in high school - but the busses don't take kids to and from the school in the off-hours that sport practices take place, so I had to drive them in early and pick them up late. That was an option for me - it wouldn't have been for my dad. The only reason they made the teams in the first place, also, was because they had been doing rec league sports since they were little kids and were already competitive going into high school (we knew plenty of kids who tried out for the teams and didn't make it). We've sunk who knows how much money into private lessons/coaching/one-on-ones, etc. None of this would have been possible for my parents, even if we'd been the type of family that did that sort of thing.

rg111 5y ago
Yes, extra-curriculars are expensive, too. The ones that I did- needed spending of little to no money, but needed a lot of time. I could afford it. Someone I know, who is now a pharmacist at a big-pharma had to help his dad in his men's salloon after school. He has zero extracurriculars, but good scores, and he reached a reputed college with much of his fees paid for due to standardised test scores. I see myself as a well-rounded person. But if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be where I am today as a person; I would be much less. (You can see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30821265 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30821265) I am not saying I would have been the same as him. Because I have seen people grow up as comfortable as, or in much better situations than me, yet achieving much lower than me. Equal opportunity does not ensure equal outcome.

rg111 5y ago

Yes, extra-curriculars are expensive, too. The ones that I did- needed spending of little to no money, but needed a lot of time. I could afford it. Someone I know, who is now a pharmacist at a big-pharma had to help his dad in his men's salloon after school. He has zero extracurriculars, but good scores, and he reached a reputed college with much of his fees paid for due to standardised test scores. I see myself as a well-rounded person. But if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be where I am today as a person; I would be much less. (You can see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30821265 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30821265) I am not saying I would have been the same as him. Because I have seen people grow up as comfortable as, or in much better situations than me, yet achieving much lower than me. Equal opportunity does not ensure equal outcome.