@eiholi “Kids in my midwestern town have it easy, with little out of school extra studying. Somehow the top handful students still manage to have good grades, perfect or near perfect test scores, and end up getting into the top 1-20 schools.”
Getting in isn’t even half the battle. Not everyone is on the same level at orientation. Aggressive “coastal” kids hit the ground running and know how to play all the angles. Students not used to pressure cooker hyper-aggressive environments are often intimidated.