> This is the root cause of the madness. Colleges insist on weighing these activities heavily in admissions decisions, so parents have no choice but to force th

> This is the root cause of the madness. Colleges insist on weighing these activities heavily in admissions decisions, so parents have no choice but to force their kids to jump through the hoops. This matters pretty much only at elite schools. These schools are looking for ambition and the ability to get shit done. This is not a bad way to do it. Maybe not the most optimal, but it’s not bad. Some folks think this is not fair or reasonable. The reality is that elite schools can’t just admit based on scores and grades (easy to inflate) due to that system not being selective enough for the number of available slots. > Is my kid really going to be a better student because she volunteered at a hospital… Hmmm… 1. Probably doesn’t matter for most schools. 2. Less likely to wash out of a pre-med major if s/he has done this. There is a very high percentage of pre-med washouts (that’s totally ok), but an applicant with a good why is more likely to stick to it, and that’s probably good for the school. 3. Elite schools, which are the pretty much the only ones where this is relevant, will want more than “volunteered at a hospital”. They want to see significant contributions and/or leadership. > or played high school softball? Probably not, but regarding elite schools (probably doesn’t matter elsewhere)… There is a culture around sports and upper middle class / elite culture in the US. This is especially true for varsity athletics (I call it a totally-not-a-club-club). Some folks may not like that this is true, but that doesn’t make it any less true.