Originally Published in the March 8th Print Publication

Stress levels are at their limits. With graduation closing in, the pressure to hear from our dream college is starting to get to most of us. This is it- the finish line. So why does it feel as if we can’t reach it yet because of a decision from that one university?

Checking the calendar profoundly, sitting by our computer, refreshing that inbox or even checking the mail. You wait for that little piece of paper, the one that will tell you if you finally have or not, made it. 

Whether or not you care about going to college, it is no doubt that this is one of the most significant decisions of a high school career. It’s like waiting for a bomb to drop. And while you may have the date, you never know what the decision will actually be. 

Though many people aren’t as stressed about getting in, considering they have backup options. For some, the decision some old people in a comfy office are making at this very moment will determine their entire future. For others it might be an aid to clarify or perhaps even solidify their choice of where they want to go or what they want to do. 

We have been preparing for the college acceptance process throughout all of high school and for whatever reason, universities delay it even further. We build up this “resume” to apply to numerous universities all throughout high school, and when the time comes to find out if all the hard work paid off, you just wait. 

Whether it is because they have too many applicants or because they cannot make an informed decision on their own terms, they force us to wait endlessly for this decision.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the acceptance rate for first applicants into universities is 60.7 percent. This means that the remaining 40 percent of people that get rejected have to wait until they find out, in order to know that they need a backup plan.