By Isabel Hicks & Juliana Johnson

The time of college acceptance and rejection is upon us once again. For many Granada Hills Charter (GHC) students, these next few months have been a constant presence in their thoughts since freshman year. Having dedicated themselves to every Advanced Placement (AP) class, and every extracurricular, all in the pursuit of their dream school, their high school experience has been defined by admission to the perfect college.

There is a toxic culture within GHC and many American high schools, particularly for those who have their sights set on prestigious institutions. From the moment they enter high school, students are flooded with worries and concerns regarding where they will attend college, rushing to take as many difficult classes and loading up on extracurriculars to make their applications stand out from all the rest.

“It’s super stressful in the first semester because there’s homework and applications and essays,” senior Ayush Singhal said.

There are many reasons why high school students become obsessed over where they attend college.

“My mom went to Cornell, and my dad went to UCLA, so getting into a good college is something that I want to do,” Singhal said. “It made me want to set a higher standard for myself, and shoot for a better college.”

But for other students, the pressure to perform comes from the culture created by the students around them as well as the perceived notion that success in high school will automatically get you into a prestigious institution.

“Starting freshman year, you’re given the notion that if you take APs or join clubs you’ll get accepted into a good university, but that’s not true because there just isn’t enough space to accept every high achieving student,” senior Jazmin Torosyan said. “Then, when these students get rejected after all their effort, they feel let down and that all their work was for nothing.”

Many students come from lower-income families where community college is the only financially viable option, or are first-generation students and weren’t educated as to earlier steps they could have taken to build up their applications.

While it can be difficult to break away from the assumptions and expectations of peers, many students have been able to flourish and have incredible experiences at community colleges.

“I chose to do community college, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” college freshman and GHC alum Bella Aquino said. “I think that community college is such a good route for someone who doesn’t really know what they want to do yet.”

There is no doubt there will be disappointment for some and joy for others as a result of college decisions, and no matter what you might feel it is important to remember that a fulfilling college experience is determined by your own mindset.

“I went into community college with a good mindset so I made it a good experience,” Aquino said. “I think if you went into either [a four-year university or community college] with a bad mindset it would be a bad experience,” Aquino said.

Oftentimes, we get caught up in the idea of the perfect college so much that we lose sight of everything else that matters. Your self-worth isn’t defined by the school you go to, a concept that is important for students to understand when they enter high school, not just when they get rejected from colleges.

Wherever your acceptions or denials lead you, it is important to consider what matters most to you when making your final college decision.

“When it’s time to decide, I think seniors tend to focus on what others want them to do or what they think people want them to do, but the most important thing to do is what feels right to you,” college freshman and GHC alum Tala Ahmadie said.

College is only the beginning of your journey into adulthood, and while students need to have a positive mindset, it is also the responsibility of their school to provide accurate education on the changing landscape of college admissions and that any college is a viable and fulfilling option.