College is stressful. We spend hours upon hours filling out information about the lives that we have constructed for ourselves over 17 years. We pay $50 to ask an admissions officer to please look at my grades and test scores and writing and tell me whether or not I am good enough to attend the institution that you work for.
31 days from when many applications are due, college consumes our thoughts, our conversations, and our spare time. We are bombarded with questions of majors, schools, applications, and everything in between. SAT scores diminish our self-esteem. Single-digit acceptance rates quell our dreams.
In a time of immense stress and pressure on high school seniors, how do we know that we’ll make it out alright on the other side? How do we find the light through a blur of red Xs on a Naviance scatter-gram?
1. Remember What is Important
In choosing a college, it’s important to remember what really matters to you. The environment of your college should reflect your core values and cater to the things that make you happiest, such as school clubs, a city environment, sporting events, etc. Studies have found that the factors that have the biggest influence on the happiness of a college student are satisfaction with social relationships, resources and the educational environment, personal goal achieving and extracurricular activities.
Notice that “level of prestige” is not included in this list. Yes, an acceptance letter from Yale would definitely provide a certain level of satisfaction, but when it comes to overall happiness, there is little cause for stress about admissions. All of these things can be found at any institution, and they all rely more upon the student’s individual choices and the opportunities that they take advantage of rather than what the institution provides to them. While some universities may cater to these “happiness factors” more than others, there is little cause for alarm at the sight of an average GPA that is higher than your own.
2. Use Your Resources
I’m guilty myself of a few panicked moments in which I thought my future was crumbling down before me, but perspective is important. Today, we have so many resources to help us pursue whatever we choose. In 2016, 85% of students enrolling in their first year of a four year post-secondary school received financial aid. There are so many opportunities for students to pursue what they feel will lead them to their best future, and lead them to extensive opportunities to discover what makes them happy.
3. Keep Perspective
In the end, it will all be okay. Our future will go on, and we will continue to venture on this path of self-discovery and exploration, no matter the decision that comes back from the admissions office of your dream school. While disappointment may ensue in the coming months, it is unlikely to last, and another future home will be waiting for you with open arms. No matter the campus, the pursuance of good relationships, opportunities, and personal goals will lead you to a better and happier future, one free of college stress.
I really liked these pieces of advice! With all that we have going on, it’s nice to stop and put things into perspective. I definitely agree with the points that you made. It’s really easy to compare ourselves to other students in our class or students at North (the blur of red X’s on Naviance), but it’s vital to remember our real priorities and to see things in the long run. Especially at North, we have an abundance of resources and guidance on our side, making the process much easier. At the end of the day, a rejection from a school will not ruin our lives. I especially agree with the point you made about remembering what’s important when choosing where to apply. We tend to focus on rankings and prestige, but our happiness is not defined by those factors. This was the perfect timing for this blog, and I definitely learned a lot from it.
I really appreciated this post. I am very stressed currently about where I’ll get in but more than anything, what I’ll do and if I’ll find a place to call home for the next 4 years. But this makes me feel a bit better, because you’re right, I’ll find somewhere and it’ll all work out. I think college applications nowadays are just far too much to handle on top of school work, along with the fact that they actually matter. It causes a lot of stress as seniors to have to put together 5 essays, and make whole resume just to think maybe I’ve wasted my time. But these tips are very helpful and I know we’ll all get through it.
I love that you used this topic because it is something that all of us can relate to right now. I also think it is great how you talked about how our scores do not define us because it is very easy for us to get wrapped up in our scores and think that is the only thing that matters when in reality they are not. I can totally relate to your first topic. Finding what you want from your college experience is the most important part about choosing your college and I agree the prestige of the college should not be the first thing that you look at. You have to see if its the campus style you want, or what part of the country it is in because at the end of the day you want to enjoy your college experience and the only way to do that is by loving the campus, not because you are going to a prestigious college yet you hate every aspect about the environment.
I love the maturity of this blog post, as we are all trying our best to complete the stressful applications. Your perspective on how to remain calm while also achieving your goals is encouraging and thoughtful towards your peers. I love how you are able to admit the idea of things being overwhelming, as nobody’s perfect. Despite this, you are also able to show those reading that there is importance in taking time for yourself, rather than constantly worrying about your future. I can’t wait to hear more about your college endeavors!
I really love how you balanced out the way we all feel with the logic that we so often overlook. This was a breath of fresh air that I really needed. Not to mention it is great that you are being honest about being in the same situation (that comment about the red x’s on Naviance = perfect). The point I agree with the most is that it is imperative that we view college not as the title on a diploma but as an avenue to develop ourselves into who we want to become. As great as saying “Oh yes, I went to Yale” would be what do you actually like about the school? How does that align with who you are? Is it actually unique to that particular school? I myself am absolutely guilty of buying into the Naperville college hype. Constantly thinking about who is going where, however, does not improve your chances. So even though I will probably keep stressing about the whole process, I think we could all take your advice, take a step back, and decide what really matters about the next four years.