College admission stress

Hello everyone! I would like to share a little bit about the college admission stress in this post.

Going to college is the final step before you enter the actual society and start working. The admission result could change your entire life as it could affect your future career path and the next four years of your life.

Students would be expected to filling their application forms between September to December and submit it before late January. In most of the time, a students stress level is underrated as people consider it is something usual as most of the other peers are also stressing out.

A lot of people often find themselves stressing out during the process and even feeling burnt out. According to research from the American psychological association, near half of the high school seniors would experience high stress level during their senior year.

People might ask I didnt feel this way back in apply to high school, why would I feel extremely stressful during the college admission process? In recent years getting into a highly selective college often being portrayed as a resolution to get a job with high salary in the future. Nevertheless, highly selective college also portrayed as a factory of producing successful people in the society. Society would also assume people from highly selective college would be more successful than the others. All these factors lead to a highly competitive admission process as everyone is rushing to be the successful one in the future society. Here are some other main reasons.

Expectation from peers and parents:

Parents sometimes would consider college admittance as an affirmation of a parenting job well-done. The ranking of the school would be considered as a grading rubric for their parenting job.

Colleges are becoming more competitive than before:

As more students are applying to more schools, therere less quotas for the undergraduate freshman year. Also, the barriers and requirements are getting higher every year which lead to a lower acceptance rate than before.

The stress has been underrated:

In a study reported by the American Psychological association, nearly half of the teenagers surveyed said they were more worried than they were the year before, yet only 28 percents of parents observed an increase in their teens stress. Parents often ignore the constantly increasing stress level of their teens which could lead to some bigger concerns such as suicidal thoughts.

So until now, you may ask so how would I know if someone is having college admission stress? Here are a few signs and symptoms that could give you a clue.

Trouble sleeping:

If you find out that you often couldnt fall asleep because you keep worrying about the admission process. Then it would be an obvious warming for you.

Trouble concentrating:

It is common that people would find out that it is hard for them to concentrate on finishing their essay or other admission paperwork.

Loss of increase of appetite:

People with the constant stress would eat more/less than usual.

Suicidal thoughts:

If the teen has been experiencing high level stress for a long period of time, then that could lead to depression and eventually cause suicidal thoughts. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 to 24 and there are many more teenagers attempt suicide unsuccessfully.

Overstressing on the admission process would could lead to other mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and sleeping disorder. There could be a serious consequence if we dont take our overstressing serious.

So, what can we do to release some of the stress? Here are a few things that we can do:

Meditate.

Meditation is a great way to keep both your mental and physical health in check and stay focused. As when we meditate, we release feel-good hormones like oxytocin and serotonin making us feel happier and less stressed. Meditating also enables us to think more calmly with clarity, so we can react more level-headed in a situation where we otherwise might not.

Maintain positivity and perspective.

A big part of managing stress is making a conscious decision to not let it get the best of us. The more we shift our thoughts toward gratitude, the better our mood will be and this can last for the entire day. And if youre stressed because youre thinking of your college applications in some extreme, all-or-nothing manner; reframe your perspective. Remember that College is just a small part in a long journey ahead of you — regardless of where you go, if you work hard and keep an open mind, youll turn out just fine. So take a deep breath and just do your best!

Lean on family and friends.

When you feel really stressing out, let your support system do just that: support you! Having family and friends around to support you can be helpful to maintain a positive mood towards the process. One of the best ways to reduce the stress is to talk to your family and friends about how you feel!

Reward yourself and take breaks.

It is important to give ourselves a little break to recharge. As we would get less productive the more we work and study. Taking a quick 10 minutes break throughout a chunk of time can help give your mind enough of a rest to get back at it when you sit down again.

During breaks, do something you enjoy like exercising, watching an episode of your favorite TV show, or taking a short nap. But make sure that your 'break' doesnt go on for too long.

Summary: The college admission process often brings out a huge amount of stress to students. Students would suffer in the stress with different symptoms and may eventually lead to serious mental health issues. It is important to let them understand that their loved ones would always here for them. A student could also find some ways to reduce their stress and have a positive attitude towards the process.

Open discussion:

Does getting into a highly selective college really matters a lot?

How would you support the upcoming applicants on the admission process?

Have you ever experienced those stress during the admission process? If so, how did you reduce your stress?

And finally, I would like to wish all the member of the Class of 2019 good luck on the admission process!

Reference:

https://www.medicaldaily.com/high-school-students-are-stressed-out-about-college-admissions-reality-burning-out-347476

http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2014/03/18/college-admissions-lauren-stiller-rikleen

https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/hear-our-students/student-blog/stress-less-during-college-application-season