To start with, admission is NOT EASY! I estimate that more than half the student population are not studying their prefered courses, or backup options, as the case was with me.
Initially it was all about getting your head down, going through the motions, and scalling through. However, at a certain point it gets under your skin a bit, you soak the environment (you’ve got to), then it all becomes about “where do you see yourself at so so”, looking at the big picture and building towards it amidst whatever you’ve got going on.