BY: CLAIRE KIM
These days, it seems like everyone is so burned out due to the vigorous competition from high school to college. Because more and more people are eager to be accepted into the top schools in the US, unintentionally the fight to succeed has become a lot more challenging and mentally downgrading. With recent studies showing how rates of depression and suicide have risen in the past decade, this conclusion can only be somewhat connected to the harsh academic competition that has been going on in our country. Many youths are struggling to balance both academics and just life in general, sacrificing basic time for themselves such as sleep and eating to maintain their grades at a certain level. But with all this effort and energy invested in their studies, sadly, without much luck some still fail to receive the acceptance letters they want. This is the harsh reality that many teenagers have to face. Obviously, in the US, there are only a few select colleges that are known as top schools in which a majority of the population wants to attend. Ranging from Ivy Leagues to private colleges such as Stanford, there is only a limited number of applicants that each school selects based on their preference. Because of this, no matter how amazing one’s grades are it only changes the probability of getting into one’s dream school, but there is always no guarantee. For those who put in so much effort, yet don’t get accepted into their top schools, it doesn’t mean that they are not intelligent or hardworking, it’s just a matter of how small of a pool colleges only take in these days. I want to remind students who feel discouraged or upset, to realize that not getting accepted into a school doesn’t mean they are not good enough. College acceptance is like a game of musical chairs. There is only a select number of seats available so only a select number of people can win. However, if one fails to sit on a chair, it doesn’t mean they weren’t skilled enough it was just the simple reason of there being not enough spaces for everyone. There is always going to be those who get in and those who don’t, but trust me at the end of the day if you keep going and push forward, your efforts will come back to you in a reward which you may never expect.
claire kim. 