Heart racing. Palms sweating. Anxiety scorches through your veins as you click the “View Status Update” button.
Rejected.
Your worst nightmare has come to life. As tears prick your eyes, you are left wondering what more you could have done during the last seventeen years of your life to increase your chance.
This is the dark reality of seniors navigating the college decision process who are crushed by rejections from their dream schools. By pushing through sleepless nights buried in books and adrenaline-induced days rushing between extracurriculars, they attempt to avoid such a disappointing outcome and earn their spot in prestigious universities. This toxic competition to one-up their peers introduces a more concerning caveat: harming children before they even step foot on their high school’s campus.
As early as elementary school, parents enroll their children in mathematics enrichment programs outside of school designed to build a strong foundation needed for higher-level classes. Unfortunately, that drive to get their children ahead of their peers typically turns into loading up a multitude of virtual and in-person fast-paced classes outside of their typical middle school curriculum, prohibiting their ability to fully immerse themselves into the content.
“I do think there is more pressure on students when they’re younger because [there’s] a lot of social media and chatter about … how hard it is and what the seniors are going through,” explained Dean of Academic Advisement Kristi Rossi. “I do think [the pressure] filters down and makes students feel a little bit anxious about the process … when they probably don’t need to be, especially not in middle school.”
With some high schools allowing students to test into calculus, four levels above the conventional introductory-level algebra class, as early as freshman year, this mentality of simply getting ahead to look more impressionable toward colleges has become a more popularized pathway. Still, a shortcut to achieving higher placement should not come at the expense of the student’s opportunity to enjoy the process of learning.
“There is no doubt that the race to gain admission to a prestigious university affects children before and during their high school years,” said Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (LVA) senior Christian Jattan. “By institutionalizing a sense of urgency to grow up and accomplish goals before you send in applications, we are effectively placing one’s childhood at risk – that is, we are making it defined by what one has accomplished rather than what one has experienced. Ultimately, both are important at this stage in life.”
Apart from math, the battle to achieve admission to top colleges also heavily involves a student’s bilingualism. The opportunity to speak, read and write a second language from when one is a toddler is a challenging, yet rewarding process. However, the chance to learn a third language through a student’s middle school is typically turned down as they resort to staying content with their second language at the chance for more spots in their upperclassmen class schedule.
In addition, being involved in competitive or intramural sports is an opportunity for kids to develop new skills and build a strong work ethic. Due to the wide variety of athletics available, players are not expected to excel at every sport they attempt, but should still feel a sense of joy and gratification from playing. But considering that universities are more likely to admit the rare freshmen varsity athletes and state-qualifiers, an athlete’s love for their sport is in jeopardy with doubts that their passion will not add value to their application.
Even those who have experience in specific sports are commonly scared to quit before high school because they feel like their time and dedication would go to waste. Take my example as a former swimmer. Though my relationship with swimming had been at an all-time low, I was rather hesitant to switch to cross country in high school because the thought of not documenting that work to show admission officers felt wrong. In hindsight, I think the fact that the college application process, which I would not experience until three years from then, caused my head to swirl with doubt shaped an unrealistic expectation of what I was expected to accomplish to earn prestigious college admissions.
Besides academics and athletics, committing time to extracurriculars that tailor to a student’s “niche” before high school has become extremely important. Limiting a student in what they “should” and “should not” spend time doing from an early age and making them compelled to follow a clear pathway tailored to their career interests gives off the impression that participating in hobbies for fun is considered a waste of time. I expect that the pressure to stand out and understand exactly what you plan to do with the rest of your life will influence children’s parents to restrain them from certain activities.
“I tried a lot of things and then didn’t stick to them, especially in middle school, and [at] the beginning of high school,” shared senior Sara Muzzi, who recently completed her college applications. “So, I think finding my niche earlier would have been better for me … , but I would say definitely trying to figure out who you are and how you want to represent yourself [is] what stuck out to me in the application process.”
Despite the toxicity surrounding college admissions, LVA senior Christian Jattan shared how staying authentic plays a pivotal role in showcasing oneself to admission officers and how this very trait earned him a full-ride scholarship to Rice University through the Questbridge National College Match.
“Stay true to yourself and do what keeps you fulfilled. Even if you do everything in your power, you still might not get into your dream institution; that’s just the unfortunate part,” said Jattan. “ By keeping true to who you are as an individual and doing things you truly enjoy, you’re more likely to find your college match —– that’s how I found Rice.”
With admission rates getting lower and lower and the expectations to craft the perfect college application becoming more difficult every year, the pressure to earn acceptance is hurting children before freshman year. And even as the saying “rejection is redirection” is becoming widely used to stifle the harsh realities of being denied a coveted spot, many parents are starting as early as they can to increase their children’s likelihood of not facing that possibility and celebrating with virtual confetti on college decision days.
