I applied to three schools and got into all. I only visited one of them, Princeton, because my parents were afraid I would get in and they wanted to dissuade me from attending. Their plan backfired.
I went to a public high school in a small town in a southern state in the late 1970s. Students who went to college went to the local Big U. I wanted something different, to go out into the world and meet new people and see new things. Nobody knew what to do with me. I made my own way.
I don’t think we did any SAT prep in those days. I didn’t, but I was a good test taker so it did not matter.
My kids applied to more places and had more choices, more college visits, and were better prepared. Their stats were good. (Arguably mine were better because I took those tests cold and did as well.) Their guidance counselors were weak. One kid had no idea what he wanted and ended up at our very strong local Big U after all that essay writing and traveling. After four years of college and then four years working, I think he has a better idea what he wants to do and the grad school application process will be more meaningful to him. Other kid also had no idea what he wanted to study but knew he wanted to play his sport so that desire landed him at a solid but far away LAC. He almost stayed near home and attended the local U. He would have if not for that last minute chance to play his sport a few more years.
The biggest difference? I knew I wanted to leave home and go out into the world and so I worked to achieve that. My kids were happy enough where they were and could get what they wanted near home. (Kid two would have stayed close if not for the sport.)