For a measly $2,900, you can send your kid to a boot camp for college admissions. Over the course of about two weeks, he'll sharpen his study habits, take mock SATs, perfect his essay-writing skills and hone his interviewing technique. He'll also get to visit a number of colleges in which he's interested. Chalk up another victory for "Capitalists Capitalizing on Parents' Competitive angst."

Says one observer in a Philadelphia Inquirer piece: "Many parents feel there is this grand door that has access to a great future and nobody understands the secrets to unlocking the door. It drives them insane." And they, in turn, drive their children insane.

One admissions dean calls such camps ridiculous, and many feel that students would be better off spending the summer enriching themselves intellectually or culturally. Instead, parents ship them off to boot camp for fear that little Johnnie or Janie won't get into a top school next year. Heaven help them if they don't—their lives will surely be unfulfilling and meaningless.

Hey parents, if name-brand prestige is so important, you can always slap a Harvard sticker on the back window. Who'll know?

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