I know several Ivy grads who are as lost as anyone about what to do with their lives, working unsatisfactory jobs in the interim. I would also say that all the prestige-chasing and focus on future admissions poisons the high school experience, resulting, in some cases, in the mental health challenges referenced above.
I would emphasize with parents and kids alike that the point is the experience on a campus, not getting in. I have actually read that some Harvard students get depressed in freshman year because their lives have been so geared to “getting in” that they never learned to live in the present. Of course, some solve that by going on to the next prestige-driven goal for the future.