“All around me, I see girls forced to become rat racers in the College Application Industrial Complex, the subculture where students must craft themselves into the perfect specimens for college admission and often lose their authenticity, love of learning, and sense of self in the process.”

American author

Rachel Simmons is an American author best known for Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, published in 2002. Her work has helped bring attention to the social pressures and hidden forms of conflict that can shape girls' lives. She is associated with writing about aggression, friendship, and the ways girls navigate status and belonging. Her book remains the main work identified with her name, and it is the source of much of her public recognition.