As I open my application portal, hands shaky with anticipation, a million questions fill my head. What do I do if I don’t get in? Will I be disappointing my parents? Will I ever be successful? As the screen reads “congratulations” and fills with confetti I am filled with relief. I am one of the lucky ones. Not everyone was so lucky to receive good news on college decision day. People who had based so much worth off of one school were crushed and discouraged from even continuing their academia. But why is that?
The college system has become some of the most cutthroat out there, students with insane GPAs and test scores being rejected and waitlisted left and right. Most recent of these schools to be released is Berkeley. While the brightest of students attend Berkeley, some with the same test scores and grades did not make the cut but are confused as to why that is. There is no simple answer, but one seems to be that the standards have changed. These standards are not one focused solely on academics, but rather on involvement and personal statement. Those who base their entire academic performance on going to a school are left behind confused and shocked. Now although this way of acceptance may be better than only focusing on grades, this opens the necessity for explanation as to why these standards have changed and how do students meet them.
While I remain one of the people able to go to their dream school, I cannot help but pick apart the corrupt college system. With a standard that always changes, how are students supposed to meet them continuously?