Counselors Encourage Students to Apply to "Right" Schools

With a large pool of above-average students in the academically-competitive State High, the district yields many candidates for elite colleges and universities.

But is a student’s dream school always the right one?

The pressure to get into a top college is overwhelming for high school students. Even with perfect test scores, an exemplary academic record, and a list of all the right extracurricular activities, admission is not a guarantee. In fact, it’s not even close. Only five to six percent of applicants nationwide are accepted to the most prestigious schools, like Harvard, Yale, and Columbia. For those who don’t make the cut, the feeling of failure can be detrimental.

State High graduate Sarah Wylie ’14 was one of those students. After being rejected from her dream school, Brown, and her runner up, Tufts, she was devastated.

“It seemed like I had worked myself so hard for no reason; I felt like such a failure,” she said. “It completely threw off my plans for my future, because I realized that my only long-term goal had been to get into an Ivy League school, and after my rejection I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore.”

Wylie is among many young students across the country who faced similar despair when applying to and entering college. The tremendous pressure has led to alarming rates of anxiety and depression on college campuses, putting a strain on mental health resources.

Counselors at State High are advancing the district’s focus on mental health awareness by helping to curb this epidemic before students leave high school. That means that many students are encouraged to consider colleges and universities that are a great fit for them individually. Wylie is a perfect example of that model. Now a thriving junior at Colgate University, she says she likes the life she’s built for herself there. She feels it’s the best choice for her based on a number of factors, including financial aid, variety of majors, proximity to home, and opportunities.

Over the years, Head Counselor Susan Marshall has watched many students spend their high school careers doing what they think are the right things to get into their dream colleges, then watched their devastation when they didn’t get accepted.

“So, we’re trying to have students and families rethink ‘What is a good school?’” she said. “We are in the business of helping students get off to the best possible start in their college career.”

Marshall and her fellow counselors start by educating students and families on the benefits of exploring a variety of schools—encouraging them to apply to two to seven schools of different sizes, reputations, and appeal. They also encourage parents to open a dialogue with their children to mutually determine the schools that are the best fit for them and their families, based on factors like finances, interests, distance, and environment—just like Wylie did.

“The college application process provides an opportunity to have conversations with your children,” said Marshall. “It’s a time to empower your child, and trust that they can make good decisions.”

She also stresses that it’s a good time for parents to remind their students that unknowing and unsettled times don’t mean unhappy times.”

This is the last time you’ll have your kid in your home,” she says to parents. “Enjoy it, and don’t make getting into one college be the sole focus of their senior year.”