college admissions culture is toxic.

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Senior year is supposed to be fun, but for many high schoolers, college admissions stress takes over. High-achieving students spend hours watching college decision reaction videos, comparing SAT and ACT scores, or scrolling on subreddits like r/ApplyingToCollege or r/chanceme, experiencing intense pressure to get into an Ivy League school. Is this culture around college admissions toxic?
Elite American college admissions have become nothing short of a lottery. And it’s a bubble that is probably going to burst soon.
For overachieving high school students who crave success, “HYPSM” (Harvard, Yale. Princeton, Stanford, MIT) seems to be the pinnacle of achievement. Students spend months, even years perfecting essays, preparing interviews, and stacking their resumes to craft the “spike” that just might convince an admissions officer to accept them.
(To get a glimpse of the pure psychopathy and unbridled ambition of teenagers who never go outside, simply spend five minutes on the r/ApplyingToCollege subreddit)
And last year, the acceptance rates for elite US universities were the lowest they’ve ever been.
This is partly attributed to the rise of test-optional applications, and also to trend of kids applying to a larger and larger pool of universities. When my parents were applying to college, people usually applied to around 5 colleges. Now, the average is more like 10-20. And more applications = lower acceptance rates.
Some 2021 Acceptance Rates:
Harvard: 3.4%
Columbia: 3.7%
Princeton: 4%
MIT: 4%
Duke: 4.3%
Yale: 4.6%
Stanford: 4.7%
Keep in mind that for the most part, students applying to these schools are already in the top 1% of high school students with regard to standardized test scores, GPA, and extracurriculars. They can only take 3-5% of a pool already filled with the most accomplished students. This makes admissions insanely competitive.
In 2022, the rates were about the same- and some schools refused to publish their statistics.
Yet, on the Internet, there is a prolific culture around college admissions. Let's discuss this.
#college #academia #ivyleague
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