The fact that 80% of the accepted students have stats which are below your kid’s does not mean that your kid has an 80% chance to be accepted! The “admissions chance calculators” provided by college advice websites are meaningless, and most provide unrealistic expectations. Do not use them!
Tell your child to do their best at high school and to challenge themselves, tell them to step outside their comfort zone, tell them to engage in ECs which are meaningful to them. DO NOT tell them “you need to do X, Y, or Z, if you want to get into A Good College”. Your kid should not be stressing out about whether their grades during their freshman year are Good Enough For Harvard, they should not be anxious about whether the classes they are taking are The Right Classes For Top Colleges, they should not be unable to sleep because they are worried whether their ECs aren’t Good Enough For An Ivy.
Don’t let your kids waste their high school years focusing on Building The Right High School Profile For An Elite College. Don’t let your kid spend their high school years believing that acceptance to a prestigious college is The Prize For Doing The Right Things In College. Don’t let your kids spend their high school years looking at acceptance to a prestigious colleges as the only way that they can validate their worth, and the worth of all they accomplished in high school.