Ivy league and “elite” schools are so hyper-competitive now that it’s no longer a competition. It’s just a lottery of smart kids. 20 years ago, scoring perfect on the SAT actually made news. Now, it’s been changed and dumbed down to where any kid in the top 10% can have a perfect score. Unfortunately kids are still treating these schools like a competition, and placing unreasonable expectations on themselves thinking it’ll somehow give them a “competitive edge.” These kind of “expectations” would be challenging for a full grown adult, much less an emotionally immature teenager. It sends the message to kids that, in order to get what I want, I have to compete by ignoring everything essential in my life because prestige and approval from other is what really matters.
The workforce doesn’t work that way at all. In fact, employees with that attitude either don’t get hired, or don’t last long when they do. It’s about collaboration and work/life balance.