It's an incredibly privileged Pov to say it isn't a contest. These kids entire futures are impacted by these scores.
Ivy League kids tend to not be facing some extreme economic precarity. In fact a decent number of them likely have enough family wealth to not need to work a day in their lives. The others are unlikely to face too much trouble over a few Bs at Brown.
Well, not once the scores become meaningless because everyone assumes they cheated.