College Application Chaos

By: Lhasa Posada

In recent years, the college admissions process has remarkably mirrored an intense game of musical chairs among students. Selective universities across the country have received multiplied amounts of applicants for every incoming class. Unfortunately, this can only mean that acceptance rates will decrease, and a greater amount of rejection letters will be sent out to hopeful students each year.

As an example, the University of California is one of many schools to break their own record this year. To summarize, first-year applications to all nine campuses added up to 210,840. That indicates a 3.5% increase in students compared to last year. In addition to that, the number of applications from those in racial groups such as Latinos, African Americans, and Asian Americans have significantly risen as well with numbers ranging from 17-25% per group. UCLA, one of UC’s most distinguished schools, received about 150,000 applications this year. Yet, only around 15,000 spots are filled by each class.

 So, what does this all mean? The gamble to college can be somewhat unpredictable and discouraging in nature. For the most part, countless American families are conditioned to bet on their children’s college decisions in order to calculate how successful they will be in the future. Being denied from a selective or dream institution is commonly found to impose great stress on the student and leads them to question the worth of all the work they did in their high school career.

However, people need to remember that achievements and growth stem from a person’s ability to overcome setbacks. In the long run, the finish line remains the same. Opening a business, going to law school, becoming a doctor, and working in big tech are all destinations reached by people traveling on different paths. The possibilities are endless when it comes to a college education. If you are in that position or may be soon, remind yourself of these things. You are only accountable for the choices you make moving forward!