This really resonates with me, especially knowing my daughter stays up until midnight or 1 am to finish all her Honors and AP coursework after a long afternoon of track practice. It's too much to expect from sleep-deprived teens!

I really want her to reject the status quo, but it is incredibly difficult to resist that peer pressure....All I can do is remind her that it's not about getting into one specific "good" college. There are so many fantastic opportunities and I can guarantee that she'll do well in a wide array of colleges. I want her to focus more on where she thinks SHE will thrive (e.g., small, suburban campus, large urban campus). Yet there's peer pressure to aim for the "prestigious" colleges. Sigh.