<p>“Yes, but many of the absolutely most impressive ECs aren’t even things you’ve heard of in school and don’t take place in school, and maybe have no awards attached to them. You just don’t know everything you think you know about the other student.
If you’re in a small school and you’re with people for 4 years, you tend to hear about these things.”</p>
<p>No. This is a conscious choice you make - to keep mental tallies on your classmates, and to assess whether colleges “made the right decision.” You don’t have to be that way.</p>