Ever since early European settlements in the Americas, the U.S. has been the breeding ground for higher-level education. Long-running institutions such as the Ivy League traced back to 1636 have helped facilitate innovation and have been centers for the rapidly advancing world. Even if the college isn’t part of the Ivy League, many have the belief that obtaining a degree is important, especially at a prestigious university with the job market becoming more competitive. This has promoted a new type of culture in the rise of the 2010s where many students and parents feel like the only ticket to success is to achieve admission at a highly-ranked university. However, gaining admittance to these colleges is a tall task, causing high-school students to attempt to build the perfect application: taking the hardest classes, participating in extracurriculars, and getting in the top percentile of standardized test takers. Senior Akshaj Variath understands the necessity of having a balanced application.
“A large part of college admissions goes into extracurriculars and academics. You want to get good grades and study hard. For extracurriculars you try to join, what will benefit you the most, both in terms of like skill, but also what will utilize your skills and the best way to maximize your chances of getting into college,” Variath said.
Although this newfound college culture has promoted ambitious high-school students, it is extremely harmful to today’s youth.
Seniors at PCH see college culture through the admissions process
“I would say it manifests itself by just the simple application process, you really talk a lot with your friends about what colleges you applied to, where you’re going, who committed where, and because of that, you honestly compare yourself to each other,” Variath said.
College culture promotes competition, leaving many students believing they aren’t talented enough, good enough, or smart enough because their peers are more successful. The positives of college culture cannot be denied, pushing students to their absolute best has helped the overall population of America become more educated, however, it also puts a lot of pressure on students. Many students feel like going to a good college correlates to a successful future. Freshman Jason Mathew sees the correlation many students have between the two.
“College applications can cause students to think and be concerned about their future as everyone wants to do well in life. College is a huge stepping stone towards everyone’s goals,” Mathew said.
The pressure of getting into a prestigious university is also seen by Post-Secondary Counselor Nana Prange
“I would say that the most negative impact would be the amount of stress and pressure the student is placing on themselves and the false notion that they won’t be able to achieve their dreams or find success if they aren’t accepted into a specific institution or type of institution,” Prange said.
The college process for some even starts when students enter high school as freshmen. They try to take the hardest possible classes, and some freshmen go above and beyond taking courses normally offered to upperclassmen.
“This year I tried to take harder classes and took AP physics because it will help me for college admissions,” Mathew said.
Although Mathew has taken difficult courses he recognizes the potential harm college culture imposes on students here at PCH.
“People ask you what you got on tests, which can get really annoying,” Mathew said.
With a cohort of high-achieving students, college culture creates a secret layer of toxicity. In my experience, I’ve seen many people judge others because they aren’t in a certain AP class or they aren’t that involved in extracurriculars. This judgment all stems from students trying to have the “best application”.
In my opinion, it is of the utmost importance for high school to be a time where students learn to collaborate instead of compete. High school also should be a time where teenagers can explore themselves, and their likes and dislikes.
Colleges discourage this, however, as admissions officers favor applications with a clear focus that goes with the applicant’s major. As a result, many students feel like they are forced down a certain route, and don’t explore other options. High school students take challenging courses that they don’t intrinsically enjoy and join clubs they aren’t passionate about. This only perpetuates the feelings of pressure and stress because while some students are cut out to handle the workload of honors and AP classes, a vast majority of students aren’t. Furthermore, it creates a facade in extracurriculars as many students are putting it on for the sole reason of looking better for college.
Many students also base their self-worth on what college they go to, something that I find problematic because college is such a small portion of one’s life. Nobody should base their worth on whether or not they get accepted when the process is extremely flawed. Admissions officers, who don’t even know the applicant personally, have to decide in 10-20 minutes whether the applicant is worthy. Also, a chunk of the decision-making process is based on factors out of an applicant’s control like socioeconomic status, gender, high school, and where they are from. Seniors are devastated by getting a rejection letter, when in reality they were more than likely qualified for the school, their demographics just didn’t fit the mold for the class. Other factors besides prestige should be considered when someone is applying for college, how much does it cost, size, and fit. However, college culture has enforced a belief that going to the most prestigious college is always the best choice.
College should be a time that teenagers are excited for, however, “college culture” has promoted mental health problems and fostered a very artificial learning environment. If we as a society refuse to change our beliefs on getting into college, I can see the negative effects of college culture interfering more and more with future high school students.
