I like to think of the kids who are getting accepted to elite schools as not trying to get accepted to elite schools. I imagine them going about their lives doing things that interest them, learning for the joy of it, helping others because that’s what we do, and trusting that whatever school they end up at will be one that fits them and be a place where they can flourish. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I hope that’s how they get to live.
Being hyper fixated on being accepted to a narrow list of schools seems like a waste of energy and emotion. How sad for those whose whole purpose is striving for the acceptance rather than the experiences that might naturally lead to it. I can understand why some of the children who aren’t accepted feel so empty afterward. I wish for better things for them.