of applying to college for some students. Admissions leaders themselves often say the process is cumbersome, flawed, and tilted in favor of the wealthiest students.Although opinions of "Turning the Tide" vary, nobody seems to question the projects intentions: to remind colleges that what they project and what they value affect hordes of anxious teenagers, whose impressions of themselves are just forming. "Theres a real developmental opportunity in this process, if its done right," said Rod Skinner, director of college counseling at the Milton Academy, in Massachusetts. Thats why he signed on. "How do we help our kids manage this madness, and how do we raise good kids? Thats very much on the minds of parents right now. Jumping into these questions is kind of essential. On some level, were fighting for the soul of this business."Getting Over YourselfIts a business that Richard Weissbourd, the reports author, knew little about until recently. Hes a child and family psychologist, a self-described outsider to college admissions. As a senior lecturer at Harvard Universitys Graduate School of Education, he co-directs Making Caring Common, a program that helps educators, parents, and communities instill respect and empathy for others in children and young adults. Mr. Weissbourds research, based on surveys of 10,000 middle- and high-school students, suggests that the selfie generation isnt so selfless, valuing achievement and happiness over caring for others.After going through the admissions process as a parent, Mr. Weissbourd turned his researchers gaze to the ritual. How did it shape teenagers attitudes and behaviors, their sense of what colleges and society hold dear? In a presentation at a national admissions conference last fall, Mr. Weissbourd said he did not wish to play down the importance of being a good student. What he preached was balance. "The issue here," he said, "is getting over yourself."In an interview with The Chronicle on Tuesday, Mr. Weissbourd described his interest in the process the nation loves to hate. "College admissions, for many kids, is the only sort of rite of passage in adolescence where they are in conversations with adults, about what colleges value, what society values," he said. "It just seems like a potential opportunity, a leverage point."The Education Conservancy, which for a decade now has sought to calm the admissions frenzy, is collaborating with Mr. Weissbourd. Lloyd Thacker, the groups executive director, considers the campaign an attempt to clarify any mismatches between what colleges say they care about like compassion and community and what they actually do, as demonstrated by their admissions requirements."Its about aligning their mission statements with the messages they send," Mr. Thacker said. "Part of their goal is to help kids become better citizens, but in terms of how they evaluate candidates, service beyond self is not promoted in balance with those mission statements."'In some affluent communities, we have a community-service Olympics going on. ... At the same time, there are large numbers of students who don't have opportunities to do community service.'Written in an earnest tone, the expansive document conveys big-picture worries and granular prescriptions. "Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and