I couldn't participate in extracurriculars at Yale because of the school's competitive environment. It's not just a Yale problem.

• When I applied to Yale and got in, I thought the hard part was behind me.
• But on campus, there was even more competition to get into the top clubs, organizations, and classes.
• The competitive nature of college admissions breeds more competition on Ivy campuses.

Applying to college in 2017 was one of the most stressful times of my life.

I'd dreamed of attending a prestigious college since the first grade, so in the fall of my senior year of high school, I packaged and repackaged myself for 14 colleges in 150-word answers.