Agree 100% with
@HCopter above.
It is also interesting to read the range of opinions on the issue of "how much did the candidate do themselves" as part of schoolwork, essays, apps, life, etc.
Keep this in mind: EVERY candidate for EVERY SA had some type of help, advice and encouragement along the way. Whether it was in the form of parents, extended family, guardians, siblings, coaches, clergy, financial help, teachers, JROTC leaders, moral support, admissions counselors, BGO/AO/ALO/RCs/etc., Scoutmasters, resources, friends, peers, social media, this forum or whatever.
There seems to be a fair amount of people that state "my DD/DS always did everything 100% themselves" when that is simply not true. There are also people that seem to believe that any applicant that received support (or too much support) will somehow be at a disadvantage at a SA, the military, in life, etc. when that also is at least partially not correct (depending of course on the circumstances).
As far as the SA applicants are concerned, no matter what level of support may have been provided, the applicant still has to earn the grades, take the tests, earn the recommendations, perform on the field/court, pool, etc., ace the interviews, do well on the ACT/SAT and write the essay (no Rick Singer jokes please), select and attend the ECs and lead where needed, earn the Nom, and do well on the CFA/PFE.
I would think that there are a large number of parents/guardians, etc. that were the main and driving force behind the application itself, DoDMERB scheduling and other coordination on the entire process - and way more than are going to come on here and admit it. That doesn't mean the applicant will not be successful at an SA, in the military or life. If the parents were that force, the applicant (if admitted) will still have to show up and perform no matter what they did or didn't do as part of the process.
Is there a drawback for not being more "self-sufficient" in the process? Perhaps, but even if that is the case please show me a successful person at a SA, the military or in life that had no help at all and did it as a one man/one woman show. After all, one of the main tenets of success at any SA, the military and life in general is teamwork and helping others.
The Beatles were right when they said: "Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.... (deleted to keep it PG-13).........Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends....."