Yes I said as much when I mentioned schools like Georgia Tech but as for top schools there are often several essay prompts so expounding on one’s intended major and interest in this is not going to be a good response to all the essay topics, especially if there is a prompt such as tell us of a time where you overcame a challenge or describe an event that led to personal growth etc.
As far as pressure in other countries, we’re not talking about the same things. Yes, kids might feel like it is the end of the world if they do not get accepted into the top school in China or India as their families see such an acceptance as a ticket out of poverty but the rejection itself is based on stats. This could mean that the student doesn’t feel they measured up compared to the other students who did gain entry but they didn’t reveal personal information about themselves regarding a time that they overcame a challenge or some other obstacle and then get rejected. Very different scenarios and so a very different kind of feeling of rejection would be instilled, with the former feeling they didn’t meet the bar (very much like athletes who are close but don’t make the cut for the Olympics or a job applicant failing to obtain the job) while the latter could feel like a rejection from someone the student confided in because the questions themselves do have a probing nature that are absent from the application process in many other countries.