I’m just saying @jazzcatastrophe , I have three friends who got 20k+ scholarships to NYU with this strategy and one who got into Columbia with this strategy. The friend of mine who didn’t do this and had a sky high GPA and a 31 on the ACT got waitlisted even though she had good ECs, they just weren’t focused.
Out of the six people I know this worked for the five who did it… It’s just what I’ve seen happen, and that’s what OP was looking for.
Sorry your advice differs, I’m sure it’s good too, but we should give OP as much advice as we can from everyone and not shoot down others because their opinion differs from yours.