Part 1: College

For many students, college is a constant, nagging thought in the back of their heads. Whether it manifests itself as long nights spent cramming for a test, mornings devoted to club meetings or schedules chock-full of AP courses, the pressure to be the best is ever-present.

Whether the stress is caused by the pressure to take rigorous courses, to do well on standardized tests or to pile on extracurriculars, college admission requirements, both real and perceived, can create anxiety for high school students.

“My SAT score is constantly in the back of my mind,” said junior Amelia Green.

Standardized tests are a major contributor to stress for juniors and seniors, several students said. Many upperclassmen will have taken at least one of these tests multiple times in hopes of bringing up their score.

While the school offers some SAT-prep classes, parents often pay for courses offered by private companies.

Daniel Audia, an admissions counselor at Kennesaw State University, said standardized tests are necessary to some degree.

“The GPA provides a larger sample of academic data when compared to a few hours of a standardized test. However, some high schools may be more difficult to succeed in when compared to others, so the SAT or ACT can provide a level playing field in some respects,” said Audia.

These tests aren’t the only daunting college admission factor that students have to face.

Green, who visited Harvard in October, said she met a student there who wrote 23 different application essays before feeling she had gotten it right.

While published admissions requirements are helpful guidelines in determining where you can, or can’t, get in, Katie Faussemagne, assistant director of undergraduate admissions and regional recruiter at Georgia Tech, said a one-size-fits-all approach to college admissions simply doesn’t apply.

“There is no formula. There is not one activity, class or test score that guarantees admission,” said Faussemagne.

Will Brown, associate director of regional recruitment at Georgia College and State University, seconded this point: “The biggest misconception about college admissions is that it’s all about numbers. Never underestimate the human element of the process.”

Yet, junior year is infamous for being the most challenging year of high school because many students feel the need to pile on AP courses and extracurriculars.

“This has probably been the most stressful year,” said junior Payton Lane.

“How in the world are we supposed to fit in 20 extracurriculars, seven AP’s and sleep?” said junior Alejandro Becerra, who is taking five AP classes this year. Becerra said he believes anyone aiming to get into an elite college must “renounce sleep and sanity.”

Junior Ellie McGowan said she also has felt the pressure to load up on rigorous classes.

“When I was a freshman, I really wanted to go to UGA, and I ended up taking a bunch of AP classes,” said McGowan. However, she said that taking so many rigorous courses have affected her GPA, a fact she now regrets.

McGowan still feels the pressure to meet certain college admission standards as a junior. She said she finds herself worrying constantly and asking, “What can I add to my life to get me into college?”

However, the stress isn’t limited to juniors. Many underclassmen find themselves worrying prematurely about what they need to do to get into the college of their dreams.

“College has always been on the radar,” said sophomore Vanessa Haak. “There’s a lot of pressure just in general to hit every course and do every extracurricular, even if it doesn’t mean anything to you personally.”

However, Faussemagne, of Georgia Tech, said this kind of pressure is unwarranted.

“Do not participate in an activity because you think it will look good on your application. Find something to do outside of the classroom that excites you, that you can lean into.”

Even so, there is no denying that highly competitive schools, such as Georgia Tech, have high expectations. According to the Georgia Tech admissions website, the school admitted 26 percent of applicants in 2016, which is less than half the acceptance rates of UGA (53%), Kennesaw State (53%), and Georgia State University (57%).

Among the students admitted to Tech in 2016, half scored between 30 and 34 on the ACT or between 1330 and 1490 on the SAT. And if that wasn’t enough, half of the incoming students took between seven and 13 AP or other college-credit courses.

Haak explained that, for students trying to enter these selective schools, even a single test can feel like a life or death situation.

“Oh, if you don’t get an A on this test, kiss Tech goodbye,” said Haak, describing how the pressure to get into college can distort a student’s thinking.  

Even freshmen feel the pressure to start preparing for their future.

“You constantly have to worry about ‘should you take the accelerated program or on-level?’” said freshman Duaa Tariq.

Tariq also said students can feel pressure to take the same rigorous classes as their friends.  

“When your friends also take a lot of hard classes, […] you try to get to that level,” she said.

Despite this pressure, Freshman Greg Elsey chose not to take AP classes this year.

“I didn’t want to deal with the stress,” said Elsey. “I just want to settle into high school.”

The college admissions process may serve a reasonable purpose, but it can add insurmountable stress to the lives of teenagers already struggling to find themselves, their interests and the people they want to be around.

Cambridge counselor Kellen Kuglar often finds herself advising students on how to stay sane and healthy when dealing with college admissions.

“I ask them to look holistically at what [they] really like to do at the end of the day and focus their energy on that,” said Kuglar.

Brown, of Georgia College and State University, encouraged students to keep a positive attitude, adding that one bad test grade or college rejection letter isn’t the end of the world.

“At the end of the day, be sure to smile, because no matter how stressful it may seem, it will all work out in the end.”