Thread by @pashulman

I know competitive college admissions is baseline stressful for everyone going through it, but there are over 25,000 high schools in the US; most have some kind of valedictorian, who is typically among a group of other also-high achieving, activity-leading, high-scoring students.

https://twitter.com/profmusgrave/status/1443974122552401937

Harvard, Yale, and Princeton each admit about 2,000 students a year. Also include the high number of international student applications and the many applicants who are elite in some unique area and thus attractive to admit but not necessarily valedictorian or SAT-perfect.

It really is hard to stand out when these elite schools have not grown their class sizes as their number of applicants has grown enormously.

There are things high schoolers can do to make themselves stand out more–pursuing activities or interests that are not part of the regular school structure while still performing highly academically, but sometimes the things that make a student attractive are impossible to plan.

At some level, it really is a crapshoot. All elite schools could fill their classes several times over with only students they rejected and still have outstanding classes.

And yes, at these schools more than most, legacies and niche athletic skills makes a difference. And yes, this is tied to fundraising. And yes, the scale of weights toward legacies and athletics is larger than advantages seen by racial minorities.

I'll just close by saying these are obvious three great schools. But there are hundreds of amazing schools out there where talented, driven students could thrive, get amazing educations, and launch successful lives and careers.

Elites only have the power their critics hate because they give it to them.

Hate elite higher ed? Fine. Don't attack "college" or college professors–get your state legislatures to better fund your amazing resource of public institutions.