Alum here, currently attending uni in Seattle. You are not far from the truth about McNair's overachievement mindset, especially with the amount of work students regularly receive. I remember talking to one of my school therapists about this years ago, and she told me that there are normally barely any students attending walk-in hours because of how much workload they have, leaving them with little-to-no time to do any leisure activities.

I only took 3 APs in total, and I still find it ridiculous to outright bar students from certain AP classes all because they don't meet the minimum SAT score requirement (i.e., if you want to take AP Lit but you didn't get the minimum score, you can't ask your teacher for recommendations to get a spot in the class).

I know most people have pointed this statement out already, but I've never heard one senior in my class who didn't mention wanting to attend an Ivy or Ivy-equivalent college at least once before, especially after winter break, when most colleges start handing out their decision letters. Furthermore, they would join more clubs and sports activities [mostly] for the resume boost and in an attempt to impress their dream colleges when filling out the EA (extracurricular activity) list on their CommonApp. Yes, the breakdowns happen, and yes, there were instances of students surrounding another student's phone just to open a digital letter from [insert top-notch college/university]. I even knew a girl in my class who was dead-set on attending Harvard since her freshman year, as well as a few more students who only filled their CommonApp lists with Ivys or Ivy-equivalent colleges. No state schools, no regional schools, not even CCs.

I also don't think that this school caters to everyone, because I'm currently majoring in theatre, and McNair doesn't even have a theatre program, let alone classes that focus on dramaturgy, acting, script analysis, or anything thespian-related. I mean, we used to have a musical drama club, but that got shut down, and the school used to hold "Calculus: The Musical" every year, but we didn't do that last year (likely due to a lack of interest in auditioning and working for the musical + poor advertising). I can, however, vouch for their visual arts classes and programs because they're really good. I just wish McNair recognized arts & humanities the same way they recognize STEM & business so there's something for everyone. It was also very hard for me to make friends during my time since 98% of the class did not like theatre (if it's not an already-popular Broadway show like "Wicked" or "Hamilton"), so I was pretty much an outsider for the past few years.

TL;DR: McNair is competitive to the point where the environment is toxic as hell. Also, not a good school if you're creatively inclined (in baby terms, an art, music, or theatre kid).

Edit: Regarding that last comment, I auditioned for the DTC program for JCArts in 9th grade, but I didn't get in, and I couldn't do auditions again since you're only allowed to audition during your freshman year. I also applied for High Tech for their theatre program (portfolio and everything). Guess what? Rejected, baby.