Yeah, I think it is always worth remembering highly selective holistic review colleges are not about being the ultimate judge of each kids’ individual merit as a kid. They are just trying to efficiently enroll classes that meet their institution’s various competing priorities. And when they talk about these sorts of issues, almost inevitably their attitude is some form of, “Great kids don’t need our college in particular, so I am sure they will be fine somewhere else.”
Which is undoubtedly true.
Speaking of which . . .
I think to the extent such a person can be identified through their application materials, they may well be very competitive for admissions at a variety of places. I think the main way that would be possible would be through their teacher and counselor recommendations, but possibly also their essays and interview reports.
But they need SOME sort of evidence as to how this applicant is going to contribute to the college community beyond their own self-advancement.
The AOs I have seen discuss these things make it pretty clear that they have a mental category that is something like “mere participant”, and you do not in fact get much value from being a mere participant. At the core, what they are really looking for is kids who will do things at their college. And mere participants are unlikely to persist.
This is why running around trying to check a bunch of boxes is likely wasted effort–if you are just racking up a bunch of “mere participant” activities, none are likely doing much if anything for you.