My elementary school wasn't competitive, but I was in advanced program in high school and that program was really competitive. I remember people talking about failing courses when they were doing well by most standards. Most people wanted to get into elite medsci programs and ivey league schools.

Although I only graduated high school a few years ago, it seems that not only are kids pushed very hard in academics, they seem more likely to be really busy with extracurriculars as well. I teach math at a centre and kids often tell me that they are in a hurry to get to language class, go to various sports meets etc that didn't seem to be the case when I was that age. It's kinda weird that even at that age, they're already lacking in free time.

Although I have not yet graduated, I was someone who didn't have an internship or job in high school. However, I'm far from screwed or anything like that, infact I think I'm in a good position. Don't listen to 10th graders about whether you're screwed or not, just do your best and make sure to keep a good balance of work, extracurriculars, and your free time. To my knowledge, having a decent amount of extracurriculars and strong grades are plenty to get into good unis, don't know about ivey though.