“I’m applying to every Ivy League school,” said one of my best friends.

What’s an Ivy League school, I asked? I was 11 years old in math class. Ivy leagues are viewed as America’s most prestigious schools and the idea of applying to such schools was presented to me at the age of 11. This  was confusing but most of all terrifying. 

The pressure started in middle school. Six years before I would be applying to university, the pressure of college already shoved in my face. Although pressure does have its plus sides, I have experienced and seen others experience the brunt of its down sides. The subject of college is prevalent in students’ lives the second they leave grade school. In this community it feels although everything you do is for the sole reason of college. So why is the college culture so toxic at LFHS and how can we fix this?

Senior Mary Carter has experienced her fair share of college stress beginning in middle school.

“People were telling me in 8th grade all the work really matters. If you do [well] in 8th grade then you’re able to be in better classes, and therefore go to better colleges,” said Carter. 

 I began to feel the pressure to think about my future academics at a very young age.This is when I knew everything I did in school would ultimately matter. In this community, there is too much pressure on where you apply and where you go. 

Senior Hayden Shortsle also said he felt the pressure before he even entered high school.

“Seventh to eighth grade I began to feel the pressures of college and school,” said Shortsle. 

This was four to five years before he would be applying to college. 

Junior Ryan Rice says that her siblings’ university recruitment process was the start of her college stress.

“He would be gone every single weekend his junior year at different ID camps at different schools in different states. It was incredibly stressful for him and it made me feel pressure to decide if I wanted to play a sport or not,” Rice said.

Ryan is not an outlier though, as the pressure is starting increasingly young.

Similarly, sophomore Cece Gordon is already experiencing the stress of college.

“It just makes me anxious to feel like I always have to do good on everything I do,” Gordon said.

On the other hand, some believe that this said pressure is vital to students success. 

Senior Fritz Bielski feels that this pressure is essential to student life.

“The pressure is a good thing. If there is no pressure no one would have any reason to do good or achieve things,” said Bielski.

Although pressure is beneficial to push students to reach their academic goals, this brings me to the question, how much pressure is too much pressure? The sometimes unachievable academic expectations in our community has always been a prevalent issue.

 How can we solve this issue that is clearly causing students way too much stress? 

As a community we must think about how unnecessarily early the pressure of school and college begins. Putting academic pressure on a child at such a young age will only lead to stress.

The community and parents need to wait until the topic of college is a real possibility and allow kids to pursue their own goals. Additionally, it is important to encourage students to forge their own path and realize that college is not for everyone.