<p>I’d say people <em>think</em> they know all about what their classmates in a small school have done, but it’s not always true. My kid would be a good example. He wouldn’t strike his classmates as an academic or extracurricular heavy hitter. He hates the spotlight so no one at his tiny school except for his best friend knew he was getting A’s at school then coming home to nurse a parent through the side effects of chemotherapy. We had to tell his advisor, who’d met with him weekly for 4 years, about the national award he’d been presented in DC and the EC accomplished by fewer than 25 people annually worldwide. I’m sure there will be some talk about how such a slacker was admitted to a school that turned down other, more prominent students in his class.</p>