There are many aspects of the college search process that students can influence – their grades, their activities, their choice of high school classes, their writing skills, and so on. Families can shape a lot too, by selecting an elementary school, supporting good study habits, setting up college savings plans, and the like. But college admissions still often feels like a lottery. In fact, as you embark on the search process, you will get used to hearing the idea that many colleges are “a reach for everybody.” One important element of college admissions is the priorities that motivate how a college selects an entering class. Those priorities shift each season, and they are outside of any individual’s ability to control or even predict.

(I can’t remember where I found this wonderful meme. It is not mine, but I agree with its meaning.)