Kids still need to meet benchmarks in terms of stats, think, at least for the arts.
I would never ever suggest doing an EC intensely (along with doing less rigor) just to get into a college! Unfortunately, I have met families who do sports and all kinds of things (buying a condo in Cambridge so the kid can go to Cambridge public hs with high admission rate). I just want to emphasize the colleges do want a variety of talents and interests and the idea of pursuing authentic “passions” can mitigate a few changes to the most rigorous course choices.