With that one C+, Katie had likely
removed herself from consideration for admission to the elite universities in
America. And she had absolutely no problem with that.
We are living through an educational
era dominated by the competition of college admissions. Over the past two
decades, universities have managed to lower their acceptance rates, increase
their tuitions, and draw students and parents into a frenzy over which school
will accept them, and what that will mean for their futures.
Journalists such as Frank Bruni and
Paul Tough have written eloquently about this topic, using research- and
anecdotal-based evidence to show that this frenzy is unnecessary. Studies reveal
that hard work and character mean more to an individual’s life success than
which undergraduate school he or she attended. But that message has not been
received by many.
We’ve reached a point where college
preparation is part of the focus even for middle-schoolers. The colleges are
able to direct their admissions departments to consider not only GPA and
standardized test scores for admissions decisions, but also courseload
difficulty. This leads some students to take anywhere from four to six advanced
classes per year. While there will always be some students for whom this is
actually doable and enjoyable, there are many more for whom this means
incredible stress and nowhere near enough sleep.
The interesting thing about this
college crunch is that no student knows for sure which university will be best
for him or her. I am living proof of that. As I applied to colleges during the
autumn of my senior year, I had never earned a grade lower than A, and was on
my way to tying for the school’s highest GPA. I had pressured myself to study
harder and harder throughout high school, and I expected the highest of rewards
from college admissions offices.
But when the responses came in, I
was disappointed. Harvard said no. So did Princeton. And Brown. Georgetown,
too. The University of Virginia added its own rejection.
I was a valedictorian, yet I’d
received more rejections than acceptances. As I enrolled in the University of
North Carolina, I found myself disappointed and thought I was settling for less
than I deserved. Of course, as I arrived in Chapel Hill, I immediately
recognized that this was a special place. It was a school that asked me to work
hard academically while also living a balanced life. I was expected to spend
hours studying in Davis Library, yet also spend hours in line waiting for
UNC-Duke basketball tickets. I was to write papers, but also write for the
school newspaper. I sat for long lectures, but also sat down for dinner with my
friends.
If you had offered me, halfway
through my freshman year, a spot at Princeton or Georgetown, I would have turned
you down. Because I’d realized that the school I was attending was in fact the
best fit for me. This was the place where I could grow in the ways I needed
most. Back in high school, there was no way for me to know this for sure. I had
to trust the process, and recognize that there was so much I didn’t know about
my future needs.
It’s so hard to recognize this when
everyone else is talking about the college pressures. It’s hard to take a deep
breath and believe that it will truly turn out fine, and that most of the
undergraduate schools out there are actually offering tremendous opportunities
for us to grow and feel challenged. It’s hard to realize that the schools many
students attend for graduate school might actually mean more toward their
career path, particularly with regard to location.
As educators, we remain deeply
concerned about the college crunch. We keep sharing current research along with
our own experiences when we talk with students and parents. We hope that they
hear our encouragement to live in the moment and stop checking the grade portal
every hour. We encourage students to fully experience high school rather than “doing
school.” We encourage them to recognize that whichever school they attend,
there will be so much opportunity for success.
As for my daughter, she has completed
most of her applications, and has gone on most of her visits. She has a dream
school, but knows it might not offer a financial package we can afford. She has
other schools in mind as well. She wants to be a nurse, and knows there are
many schools prepared to educate her well in that field. She has a guidance
counselor who reassures her that she is on a path toward true success.
I recently finished the payments
that make me a lifetime alumni of the college I attended for undergraduate
school. It wasn’t a huge payment, but it was a way of saying thank you to the school
that gave me what I needed, even when I didn’t know that myself. It was a way
of wishing that all our students could recognize that this is possible for each
and every one of them. Hard work, character, an openness to new ideas, true friendships
– these are the things we need as we grow, at all ages. If the university we
attend encourages these things, we are in good hands. We will be just fine.
