What “crushes teens’ mental and physical health” is more likely to be the warped perspective of ambitious parents who fail to provide students with realistic advice about reach, match and safety schools, and who make their children feel like failures at life if they don’t get into a very narrow band of schools. I sincerely doubt that Harvard etc, with its 36B endowment is basing its financial planning strategy on piddly $75 application fees.
I understand being temporarily sad and disappointed at not being accepted to a dream school. But “crushing” one’s mental and physical health? That’s a sign that the kid has way bigger problems than being rejected by an Ivy.
Re Oberlin: It’s not obscure at all; it has a long, proud history in American higher ed. Plus my grandmother went there.