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Comment by exelius | Hacker News Reader

> I question the sanity of it all. I didn't have anywhere the level of structured activity as a teen and still managed to gain entry to a top-20 university. Presumably because I was successful in things I enjoyed, not things my parents thought were good application boosters.

It's much more difficult today. The US has unquestionably the best university system in the world, which means American students are competing with students from around the world for entrance into American schools. And of course, everyone only wants to go to the best schools, so they have all these structured activities as a resume-builder.

What I've read is that, ironically, kids with perfect SATs, 80 extracurriculars, who play the violin and speak 5 languages fluently are so common that they don't stand out anymore. The credential inflation has led schools to find alternate methods of evaluating candidates.

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>What I've read is that, ironically, kids with perfect SATs, 80 extracurriculars, who play the violin and speak 5 languages fluently are so common that they don't stand out anymore.

Can't wait for the day when traditional parents catch on and we see the mass enrollment of Chinese kids in linebacker camps.

While I agree to a point, for most of these students, Harvard isn't an option (and never would have been). These are typical upper-middle-class kids and parents. Smart enough to get a six-figure job, but far from the top tier of thinkers and doers (I don't mean this disparagingly - I'm firmly in that same category).

I wonder how much impact international students have on the prospects of US students applying to US universities? I'm sure at the super-elite schools, there is an effect. But, at the big state schools? I don't know.

I'd also love to see a plot of college "seats" vs overall population. I know all the Virginia state schools have increased enrollment, but probably not enough to keep up with population growth. Is this true across the nation? Probably.

> The US has unquestionably the best university system in the world

A bold assertion. Well-educated Europeans with near-zero debt on graduation might argue otherwise.

Every developed country has long lines of overseas students competing for college places, including very mediocre colleges. It's a route to immigration and not necessarily an endorsement of the university system.

The system may have problems, but the universities themselves are the best in the world in both education and research.

Some of them are, yes indeed. The US dominates the world top-20. The US has lots of the world's best hospitals too, and few would claim it has the world's best health care system.

I'm very happy the extremely good places exist, but I'm sad about crazy student debt and crappy for-profit universities.

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