I too went to a highly competitive/prestigious college, I was recruited early admission but ended up being pretty average at best. It wasn’t a good fit for me and I wonder how I would have progressed at a different style school ( but probably helps my CV). Regarding my own ( very middle/regular)children and placement? I feel pretty confident that they would end up feeling ‘not special enough’ at a more competitive school, and it would change their progress. Acquiring the skills to self direct and learn leadership in a ‘warm’ environment makes sense to me. It’ll be VERY interesting to see what happens in just a few short years.