You're about to meet two ambitious high school students who we've been following for months, drowning in course work and test prep in the mad dash towards college. But just this week 85 top schools, including the entire ivy league, signing on to try to tone down the pressure. With potentially game-changing proposals. So what does it mean for kids with big college dreams? It's an early weekend morning. And while most kids are sleeping in, Chris carpavich is cramming. There's just moments to go before he takes the S.A.T. And tensions are running high. Reporter: Chris is a senior at rye high school just north of New York City. Ambitious students and a rigorous curriculum making it one of the best public schools in the nation. He has near-perfect grades, captain of the cross country and debate teams. And spends countless hours volunteering at bread of life, his parents' food pantry, even creating a chapter at his own school. on Chris and countless others. Years of sacrifice, huge chunks of his childhood, he says all in the hopes of getting into his dream school, Harvard, where both his parents went. Reporter:BUT With competition at an all-time high it very well might.Harvard university is ground zero for this reform movement.How did the college process become so stressful? Middle and upper-class communities became very focused on a small number of colleges are. Parents start signalling to each other these are the colleges that are most important to get your kids into.Reporter: The recommendations, pragmatic yet ground-breaking. Emphasizing quality over quantity. Encouraging fewer extracurricular activities. Fewer ap courses. Even in some cases making the S.A.T. Optional.