College counselor: I’m sick of reading about golden kids getting into Harvard. Here’s the story I want to see.

Last month, Brennan Barnard, a college counselor at a private school in New Hampshire, wrote a piece on how the college admissions process for many students had become something akin to The Hunger Games. He wrote:

In an ideal world, college preparatory education would encourage students who crave knowledge, seek community engagement, desire connection and live their values. We say we want our children to feel secure, be inspired and take risks with their curiosity. The reality of “The Hunger Games” comes closer to the truth, where students battle to survive in application pools seeming to demand perfection……

….This “trophy” mentality to college admission fueled by such articles seems more appropriate for tabloid fodder than thoughtful reporting on the transformative value of higher education.  If we want to honor distinction, how about applauding the fact that the New College of Florida (a CTCL school) has more Fulbright Scholars per capita than any Ivy League institution?  If the headlines each spring continue to support this limited fixation on 5 percent of the most selective colleges and universities, we are just perpetuating an unhealthy culture of competition and elitism.