I do think it is a mistake to turn the whole high school experience into an attempt to get into a top college to which many talented students are denied admission every year no matter what they do.
No one is saying that students should not take their schoolwork seriously, choose challenging courses, and get involved in some activities (jobs or clubs or volunteering or athletics or research or internships). Of course, they should.
But there should also be a sense of enjoying high school classes, activities, and friendships for their own sake, and of exploring many possibilities and being open to changing your mind about what you like.
Yes, work hard and prepare for the future, but remember to live in the moment, too. You do not get to go back in time to enjoy high school.
There is always a “next step”- after high school, there is college; after college, there is grad school; after grad school, there is a job; after a job, there is a promotion; etc. If you live your whole life always focused solely on the next step, you will not enjoy any part of your life.
The wisest highly ambitious people balance both the future and the present.
And yes, many of them attain admission to top colleges, amazing jobs, etc.