It’s crunch time for college applications. In my backyard — the San Francisco Bay Area — the bulk of high-achieving, high school students secretly salivate about going to Stanford University as their dream school. Their parents, especially of the Asian Tiger Momgenre, commonly relish that dream even more. Many in the Bay Area view Stanford as an elite school that is even more coveted than the widely perceived King Kong of universities, Harvard.

Last season, the freshman admit rate at Stanford dropped to an all-time low of 7.1%, the third lowest admit rate among all U.S. universities. Harvard and Columbia “shone” with even lower admit rates of 6.2% and 6.9%, respectively. Stanford’s Office of Undergraduate Admission has tackled the uneasy job of rejecting 93% of the high-achieving souls who pursued their dreams and applied to the coveted school.

While elite schools like Stanford beam about the lowest admit rates in their history (which add marketing value as they fiercely but cordially compete against one another in the intricate world of higher education), public high schools in California, which are financed by the technically bankrupt State of California and which often crave adequate resources, struggle to control dropout rates of less motivated kids. And many guidance counselors and teachers in public high schools have to worry about not only doing their jobs but also maintaining their job security.

Full story: College apps, Stanford anyone?