“I feel like I’m so behind on college stuff,” my best friend said over FaceTime a few months ago. SAT scores had just come out, and the gossip was nonstop — who scored well, who didn’t.
I was surprised to hear my friend in such a gloomy mood, since she was on top of everything: taking SAT prep classes, applying to all-star academic summer programs, and leading multiple clubs.
If she was far behind, how much further behind was I?
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During the past few months, college prep has gotten serious. During freshman and sophomore years, college had felt like a distant dream. The words SAT, Common App, and early decision were in the back of my mind, but I was more focused on Minecraft or biking around Fresh Pond. Somehow, the anxiety had creeped into our lives, smothering us like a weighted blanket.
Everyone was obsessed with filling their resumes. A classmate in chemistry was planning to attend a Harvard summer session, a friend posted a photo of the first day of his biochem research lab internship, and someone in my Spanish class was brainstorming ideas for her essay. I found myself getting sucked into the resume-building hustle as well. Everyone seemed to know exactlywhat they wanted to do in college: electrical engineering, biology, environmental science. Everyone, but me.
Asking 16 and 17-year-olds to choose their careers, which can span decades, seems absurd. I was comforted by the promise of schools with open curricula, or the possibility to explore many fields. But despite that, colleges expect teenagers to have a passion — or at least a plan.
I’m sometimes envious of friends in other countries who don’t face the same pressure. My mom went to university in Sweden and was shocked to learn that college here isn’t just about submitting grades. There, it takes three minutes. Here, it can take three years.
And what do colleges want, anyway? A well-rounded student who also specialized in one subject. Someone who focused on academic achievement but had time for countless extracurriculars. A standout athlete — but only if they’re being recruited. In other words, someone who does everything well, all the time. (OK, I’m exaggerating… but only a little).
The combination of expectations and competition creates a perfect storm of pressure. Belmont, full of Harvard and MIT professors, big names in biotech, and high-profile businesspeople, is hyper-focused on college admissions. I mean, when you have five students going to Harvard from Belmont High each year, it’s hard not to feel pressure to succeed in every way. I think adults don’t realize the pressure students put on one another.
Still, talking with my friend on FaceTime made me realize something: no one really knows what they’re doing, and we all feel like we should be doing more. We’re all trying to do things we hope a college will like. In the end, we’re just trying to be better versions of ourselves — by exploring new interests, getting involved, and learning what excites us.
Maybe figuring it all out isn’t the point. Maybe it’s just about learning how to keep going, even when you’re not sure where you’ll end up.
Siri Iagnemma is a Gen Z columnist for the Belmont Voice. She is a rising senior at Belmont High School, a writer for the school’s newspaper, “Highpoint,” and a member of BHS’s cross country and track teams.
