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Why Did Adults Turn College Admissions Into a Teen Popularity Contest?

Grownups should know better

George Dillard

5 min read7 hours ago

Press enter or click to view image in full size Photo by idawriter, CC 3.0

Adolescent psychologist Mitch Prinstein conducts in-depth academic studies of something that anybody who has ever lived through high school understands on a gut level: popularity.

Why do kids suddenly become obsessed with their social standing when they hit their teenage years? His theory is that, during adolescence, teenagers start to seek independence from their parents, which means that they look for more connections with their peers.…