At my public high school in Arkansas, no one else seemed to be applying to as many schools, but I kept reminding myself that it would be worth it. I matriculated at Yale, bought room decor, and learned the hard way that Yale dorms didn't have air conditioning. It's not just a Yale problemIt's not just Yale that breeds a hypercompetitive environment. The university actually felt a lot less overtly competitive than high school because people weren't all trying to achieve the same narrow set of goals. Competitive clubs are a product of a value system we bought into as children so that we could get into these schools.

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Persons: I'd, we're, Crisp, It's, Mira Debs, I'm, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Yale, Ivy League, Yale Dramatic Association, College Locations: Arkansas, The, Yale