As much as I don't like Megan McArdle, she may have a point here. We're currently in the process of college admissions for our elder daughter and every little fucking thing she's done over the years is under scrutiny--not so much by admissions officers (they can't possibly read all these applications, can they?)--but by my daughter who is constantly feeling like a failure because she compares herself to kids who get perfect scores on everything. This then conspires with her perfectionism to make her feel like shit. I hate that we are wading back into the mainstream of educational bullshit after bucking it all these years with homeschooling. My kid's great; stop making her feel like she's inadequate!