<p>Laid back isn’t the same as not caring about academics. There are few people in my high school and college who would say I wasn’t a laid-back person yet I scored a perfect 1600 on the math and reading sections and got 750+ in the writing. I performed several ECs at a high level, took many AP tests and got 5’s on them, got solid grades, etc. A laid-back person is one who in my opinion, doesn’t take grades personally. Obviously it is important to do well as all the schools you mentioned are expensive, but not to the point where your grades define you. That’s what makes a school like Stanford laid-back and a school like Harvard not.</p>