Thing is, it’s not a brand new trend to consider more than “classroom” potential. Top colleges want a sense of community, for many reasons. And they can cherry pick kids with it all. They look at the 4 year potential, as part of the community.
That’s not putting down various achievements.
Nor is it all that high a bar, to ask kids for some breadth. It’s just not all about who has the more wins, perfect scores, ran every club or team, etc. And really, that’s true in life, too.