Commentary By: Abria Joshua, Gateway Regional High School, Woodbury Heights
This summer, I started working on my college applications, which have been the culmination of the past four years of my life. I have always been excited for college and my future, even when it’s not clear how it will unfurl. However, as my computer screen burns my eyes into the wee hours of the night while working on college applications, I begin to wonder if it’s all it has been chalked up to be.
Dealing with standardized testing, complicated grade reporting, unclear rules, and so many personal essays has a way of draining me that I never expected. I have spent my entire life looking forward to college, but the college applications, what I have to do to get there, are so annoying.
Going into senior year, I knew that it was not a perfect system, but I naively thought it would not affect me. However, now that I have completed half of my college applications, I am infuriated with the system as a whole.
There are positive aspects of college applications. I am still really looking forward to college, but now I view college applications as a means to an end. A very unfortunate means, but still one that gets me where I want to go. The college application system has its flaws, and there will never be a change if people do not criticize it. I do not believe that this article will lead to massive nationwide change, but it might let others know that they are not alone in their frustration.
The Wealth Advantage
I would say that the biggest flaw in the system is the advantage that wealthier students have. This advantage is built into the system from the outset, starting with the resources that wealth affords. Wealthier students typically attend more affluent schools that can provide a better education and more support.
On the most basic level, having extra money often improves a student’s extracurricular activities. Do you want to study writing? You would be at an advantage if you could afford a writing coach or attend seminars. Are you good at a sport? You would be even better if you could join a travel team, have a personal trainer, or attend a sports camp. I don’t fault the students who have these resources; I think that’s great! The answer to this inequality is not to limit the resources of wealthy students but to help every student access quality education and resources. Until then, wealth put certain students at an advantage.
Money also leads to a notable improvement in standardized testing. CNBC said in an article, “Researchers have repeatedly found that wealthy students enjoy significant advantages throughout the college application process, and that income greatly impacts a student’s performance on standardized tests.”
The exact cause of this divide is difficult to pinpoint; however, it’s probably related to the cost of standardized tests and academic support. Wealthy students are more likely to be supported by people who understand standardized testing, whether that’s parents who went to top colleges or a private tutor.
There are absolutely efforts to improve the gap, and I think those efforts are commendable. But it’s disheartening to be working on applications while knowing there were people born with an automatic leg up.
My Whole Life… In One Application
There are two main areas where you can show yourself outside of numbers: the personal essay and the activities section. But there is no way I can communicate everything in just one application, no matter how many personal essays I write. Ultimately, colleges will not truly see who I am, but the parts of me that are important and convincing enough to mention.
My personal essay was about my experiences of being homeschooled and then transitioning to public school. In it, I talk about that journey: how it affected me and what I learned. The word limit for the Common App personal essay is 650 words. Regardless of how concise the essay is, I can not tell someone how it impacted me in just 650 words. Even in my personal essay, where I am supposed to introduce myself as a person, not just a student, I have to settle for a limited, distorted view.
Furthermore, the limit for the activities section is 150 characters. I found it impossible to convey to colleges the importance of some of my extracurricular activities. For example, I have competed in NCFCA Speech & Debate for five years. It is by far the extracurricular activity that I have devoted the most time and effort to. I spend hours preparing our case, miss school for two or three days at a time, drive five hours to a tournament, and compete for three long days. It has been so instrumental in who I have grown into. But I can’t say that, because that took 353 characters.
Additionally, there is a limit to the number of activities and honors you can add. I understand why they would add one and I agree that it is necessary, but I ran out of room in both sections. It just exacerbated the problem of colleges not seeing the whole me.
The Busy Season
Another issue I encountered, which is just a reality of college applications, is that life does not stop during application season. College applications require a significant amount of work and occupy considerable mental space. Personally, they have been my top priority for the past three months. But the rest of my life did not grind to a stop just because I have college applications.
I take four AP classes, and as expected, I consistently have a lot of work from them. I have extracurriculars, work, family responsibilities, and volunteering in addition. Time management is not my strongest skill, and sometimes it just feels like my to-do list will never be complete.
This background knowledge that there is always something to do with a hard deadline and consequences for my future probably does not help me relax. However, I can’t really expect life to pause so I can work on my college applications, so this is just an unfortunate reality.
I have learned so much from the college application process. They have been such a milestone, marking how far I’ve come, but I just want to get to the next milestone already.
This story was originally published in The Chomp, Gateway Regional High School’s student news website.
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