Admissions rates for colleges are dropping every year. A study conducted by the National Association of College and University Admissions Officers (NACUAO) found that the adoption of test optional policies has led to an increase in applications for universities, especially from underrepresented minorities, first-generation and low-income students.
With more competition, high school students are forming a mindset with a single destination at the end of the road: to get into college. But not just any college; the most selective, prestigious universities there are. With the list of must-apply schools increasing every year, a new generation of parents emphasizing higher education and bachelor’s degrees becoming prerequisites for jobs in this economy, students are doing everything they can to get into school. Harvard University no longer has the 11% acceptance rate it had 25 years ago, but rather an astonishing 3.6%.
The stakes are higher and the focus on getting into college has become so much narrower. For highly selective and competitive colleges, grade point average (GPA) and standardized testing are not enough when everyone has the same grades and scores, placing a lot more pressure on extracurriculars and volunteer work. For this reason, students are starting to focus on participating in activities that “look good” on applications as opposed to activities they truly enjoy.
“There is a lot of competition, especially when you have dual enrollment and [Regional Occupational Program (ROP)] class opportunities. There’s always this feeling that you can do more,” senior Carla Guertin said.
The work is becoming overwhelming and the expectation to balance the numerous tasks as a teenager is unfortunately known all too well. Not only is this straining, but it encourages students to hold onto a mentality that every activity must yield the best results that can be showcased on their application.
“During my freshman year, I tried out for academic decathlon because I heard about the awards and competition past members have participated in,” senior Claire Ahn said.
A toxic culture has been created, where students now feel they have to go to school for six hours, find an internship that has hours after school, volunteer at every event and basically work almost twice the time of a full time job in order to get into college.
Extracurriculars are of course important to the holistic review of an applicant. Without them, judging a student solely based on GPA and tests does not show a student’s personality, dedication and diversity. Extracurriculars, although not a perfect indicator, should still be good in understanding a student’s drive through what they love to do. Unfortunately, many are simply participating in those activities not for the experience, but as a way to build their resume for college applications.
“I have to get into a good college or otherwise all of this hard work was for nothing. I think a lot of people put that pressure on themselves,” Guertin said.
Students feel like they have to live their lives revolving around college acceptance, where every part of their daily life is designed to fit into a mold they deem admission officers would like to see.
“There’s often a lot of pressure put on your high school years, which often causes self doubt and imposter syndrome,” Ahn said.
It is hard to not fall into the trap of creating this ideal new character of yourself when so many around you are saying to quit a hobby and join a certain club instead.
In addition, YouTube videos and TikTok reels relating to college applications spread rapidly across the internet. Many people claim to know everything about college admissions and give “profound advice” on what are the best ways to get into college. A devastatingly common piece of advice is to stop doing activities that are competitive because you are not considered an adequate competitor. Another classic one is that colleges do not care about junior varsity sports and so neither should you.
Simply put, those so-called professionals say to stop doing what you enjoy because you are not good enough, so therefore the experience is a waste of time. Videos like these are perpetuating the culture where students are losing sight of the true purpose of extracurriculars. They are activities meant to be enjoyable and a way for students to experience and learn new ideas that can’t be found in the classroom. And if the videos even had an ounce of truth, is sacrificing your true interests worth the eight minutes an admissions officer spends looking at your application?
“I think we keep doing as much as we can do…[and] we’re trying to convince ourselves that it will all be worth it in the end, even though it is hard to see throughout the process of everything,” Malia Dacillo said.
These kinds of posts on social media or even pressure from peers conforming to these standards establish higher college acceptance chances as a first priority for students and neglect students’ needs to find their real interests and passions.
It is ridiculous to say that you have to be a world-class runner to be a valuable member of the track team, or that your worth is solely tied to winning medals. This idea implies that qualities like intelligence, a hardworking attitude or compassion for others are dependent on the physical attributes of a runner. Because according to those videos, only the fastest people should spend time running in track.
Clearly, their reasoning is flawed and so the only alternative is that the videos view sports as one-dimensional. But that is not true in any way. It is not the time it takes an athlete to cross the finish line that actually means anything, but rather the perseverance, time commitment and drive that are all essential for both college and life in general. Certain aspects of the sport such as improving mile times over the season, cheering on fellow runners at meets or being the designated hair braider create valuable and imperative moments that shape our character.
The extracurricular itself is nothing if personal growth and meaningful connections are not gained from it. The designation that certain extracurriculars are now considered “mediocre” and holds less value than being the founder of a climate change club that rarely even meets once a month is preposterous. The ranking and prestige that an extracurricular may seem to have falls short in painting the true picture of who you are to college admissions officers.
According to a survey in the U.S. News & World Report, “72 percent of admissions officers prefer that students be consistently involved with one issue over a variety of causes.”
Not only does volunteering simply for the hours hurt one’s application in the eyes of admission officers, but it also does not show commitment or a passion for the community either.
The key to combating that self-doubt about your future is to take the initiative to accurately research and figure out your own passions, not base what you do off other people’s perceived interests. Just because someone from Princeton started a nonprofit by collecting thousands of dollars for the homeless does not mean you need to do it too.
Stacking up the resume with irrelevant extracurriculars and random volunteering sends the wrong message. Demonstrate sincerity and genuine care for a certain philanthropy over checking the boxes to get that volunteer award.
Students should use high school as a way to discover their passions and find out the kind of person they want to be. The pressure of doing countless meaningless extracurriculars stops when you start to be honest with yourself. Even if colleges can’t tell if you are portraying a fake picture of your identity, when will the act truly end?
