Last night, an old high school buddy called to catch up. She related horror tales from the private school rat race in Washington, DC. All four of her children attend elite, private schools in DC. Think college prices. The oldest is getting ready for college and has been preparing his applications for the Ivies.

Sue said that the admissions standards for Ivy League schools are much higher than when she went to Harvard. Not only do you have to a perfect GPA and be the president of some club, you also need to be a varsity athlete, president of the class, and do some sanitized charity work. She said that her son's classmates hire a $400 per hour college consultant, who had a three year waiting list. Private tutors for academics. 

Behind each applicant to Harvard is a team of stylists, who create an image of effortless perfection. Canned creativity. Canned generosity. Crammed full of key words that are statistically shown to appear on the SATs.

The new essays for college are predictable in their creativity. Here's a sample from the University of Chicago, "Don’t write about reverse psychology." “What does Play-Doh™ have to do with Plato?” You know what would be really creative? If these kids tore up their college essays and learned how to fly a helicopter for a year. 

Sue said that a psychologist found that 30% of kids at Ivy League colleges were depressed. In part their depression came from working for no reason. At some point, every Type A kid has to wonder if itmatters if they get an A on test rather than a B+. Kids are working their asses off without a goal. 

As Sue related the drama of private school, I kept thinking about the families that I know who are struggling to pay their mortgage. It would be nice if the Occupy people got their acts together and started to make a stink.