Guttentag said students are more concerned now about how their activities appear on their college applications than 15 or 20 years ago. Brown's Goldberger said he is aware of students with artistic ability or musical talent who pass up those courses in favor of weightier subjects. For kids to feel they're going to be at a disadvantage because they have one less AP course than somebody else in their school . The atmosphere can create conflicts among students. Charters said there has been discussion in her school about the fairness of band members' being able to take Honors Band, a class that can improve their rank, while no counterpart is available to athletes.
Students also can find themselves caught between personal interests and bolstering a college resume.
Abigail Williams, a senior at Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, enjoys language club, photography, and community service. That includes her involvement in Girl Scouts, Sunday school teaching, and starting a service with her sister that delivers books to shut-ins. I think people lose their sense of right and wrong when they're trying so hard. Partly because of the competition and partly because of their growing sophistication about higher education, students are making college decisions sooner and targeting more schools. I would say 10 years ago we would see a handful of kids in the spring of their junior year, and most everybody used the fall of their senior year to visit.