Pride of place
When a student learns that his or her whole worth and dignity is pegged to his exam scores, they cannot but do their utmost to achieve that pride of place, viewing the rest of the class as competitors, or enemies to be eliminated.
A top student enrolled at a top university has a long list of triumphs and trophies, but fresh fights await him or her in that arena.
We should probably be more prepared that the fights can be bloody sometimes. We have come too far from the Confucian view that "What the great learning teaches is to illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and to rest in the highest excellence."
Local villagers climb mountains to get relief supplies