I recognize that an education is important but the approach suggested seems to me a bit frantic and extreme. Whats important is not so much getting a kid into a good college but getting a kid interested in learning through his or her life. Its the rare kid that won't burn out under such a paradigm.
At Barnes & Noble, I saw a poster for some book on getting into college. The theme was "it's a family project." Tough for kids whose families aren't in a position to devote huge amounts of time and money to the process.
Regarding "downtime," see these two posts.
Gaining admission to elite universities has become a cynical exercise of personal branding for students. One admissions officer at an elite school told me "The last thing we need is another well prepared suburban student. These students just don’t add anything to the mix. We need more applicants who have overcome diversity in their lives." Above a certain level, preparation, skill, and strong academic interest do not improve a student’s personal brand for admissions. For successful admissions to elite schools, students need to include some kind of diversity component in their personal brand.
In my experience, hiring new graduates from elite universities is rarely worth the trouble. The young Ivy leaguers, that I interviewed all had an overwhelming strong sense of entitlement and were less prepared technically than their public university competitors.
Commenting by HaloScan
