Education has become an integral part of the daily lives of students. However, with the advancing of education, and an influx of opportunities at CHS for aiding college applications, concerns are being raised about whether or not students are taking the right approaches to handling schooling.
Students put themselves in a mental cage when trying to apply for colleges and always strive to achieve their high standards. This cage consists of social and academic pressures, and leads to application anxiety and living with the guilt of missing their parents’ goals.
High school students utilize their immense stress to perform to the highest level. High performing students usually take multiple AP classes to attempt to accelerate their grades and boost their GPA. This leads to students having no time for their outside life or extracurriculars.This pressure, teens say, impacts their ability to understand what struggling really is. These struggles can be amplified through rejection from college and inability to create a good college experience.
Being able to build a strong college application is a rewarding feeling and allows students to see their accomplishments; however, when it comes to students’ high expectations for themselves, they may never feel like enough. No matter how well students perform, colleges continue to raise their standards in terms of what’s needed to be accepted. Currently, 1.17 million students have started applying to four-year colleges and continue to skyrocket. With that in mind, countless students rush to take as many classes that will benefit themselves regardless of the outcome of their mental and physical health.
Once students have graduated high school and attempt to finish the rest of their educational and professional journey, the pressure from academics that once constricted their freedom shifts to logistical issues. The behaviors students may exhibit in school, like waiting until the last minute to turn in assignments and allowing your teacher to walk you through them, may not apply later in life. This becomes an issue to the students who aren’t able to bridge the gap between high school and college.
Although students may put too much pressure on themselves, they can still succeed and live more confident lives. By highlighting determination and self-reliance, they can create a suitable future for their life. Whether or not they let the pressure envelop them is the students’ choice.
While there is such a thing as good pressure, the fear of not succeeding in life outweighs the chains that the education systems and adults place on students to have a good future. An ideal future for the parents is not always ideal for the child. Whether it has been from past regrets the parents don’t want to bestow on their kids, to wanting them to become top of their class with no wiggle room for any social aspects.
In the end, parents want their children to succeed in all facets of life, whether or not they are going to give them the pressure to be like them. College becomes a place where students should learn about themselves. Students should not worry how college will evaluate them based on how well they live in the shadows of their parents missed opportunities.
