@Deaston Over the 20 years I worked in admissions for two Ivy League universities, I noticed a major change: parents (and candidates) could no longer take “no” for an answer. 20 years ago people accepted that they didn’t make the cut. They were upset but accepted it as a fact of life.
Beginning around 2005 things changed. Parents could not longer accept that their child was rejected. They started arguing that they were being “discriminated” against for one of a myriad of reasons. Sadly, this had the effect of making admissions officers even harsher. I got out of admissions as I frankly was tired of the abuse. And tired of having to explain to people that their child may be outstanding but there were simply other candidates who were more attractive overall.
Makes me wonder how people will deal with rejection later in life.