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The Official Student Paper of Riverside Poly High School

It’s the Student, Not the School

May 22, 2015

REFORM: High school students around the nation should not let universities dictate their lives.

By Matthew Saenz, Staff Writer

5.7 percent. That percentage represents the pool of applicants that get into Stanford every year, according to 2013 numbers by U.S. News. These numbers are only trending downwards as more and more students are beginning to apply for the same number of positions, according to an article published by Business Insider. Do the students that get rejected lead unsuccessful lives? No. Do the students that get rejected have a disadvantage over those accepted? Often times, no. Are the students that get rejected unsatisfied? Yes. Why?

In today’s money-driven society, attending college has evolved into more than a requirement—it has become the expectation that students of all abilities will attend a university. And not just any university. Most high-achieving students desire to attend the most prestigious of universities, from Stanford to M.I.T., Harvard to UC Berkeley. They see the admissions process as their only gateway to success, and in order to get accepted, these students will go to ridiculous measures to give themselves a better chance, including taking several Advanced Placement (AP) courses, receiving top-notch test scores and participating in numerous extracurricular activities. However, as a result of their efforts, education begins to take on a different meaning. Students, instead of attending school to learn, now go to school to pass tests and build a résumé. Every year, students are caught in a vicious cycle, a mania to be one of the lucky few that get accepted to these universities. It has become a nationwide epidemic with no signs of stopping. However, high school students need to take a stand. Studies have proven that the college you attend does not define the careers you can pursue.

Perhaps the best example of this truth lies in a 2002 study conducted by economists Stacy Berg Dale and Alan B. Kreuger which analyzed the careers of students who applied to these prestigious universities. They found that “students who attended more selective colleges earned about the same as students of seemingly comparable ability who attended less selective schools.” They aren’t saying that simply applying to Stanford will make you more likely to receive a better job. Rather, they found that being the type of student that could get into Stanford is as important as being the student who as accepted by Stanford. This finding should serve as an inspiration to students everywhere who feel that their only chance of success is through acceptance. Success, as these economists found, was based more on how well you did in college, not the college you attended.

Sarah Chae M.D., a physician at Riverside Medical Clinic and a graduate of Yale University recalls that many of her colleagues at Stanford University Medical School didn’t come from the stereotypical “prestigious” university. “Very few of the students ever went to an Ivy League school. Most of my classmates excelled at smaller colleges,” Chae expressed. She also expressed her regret in caring so much about attending Yale. “People from Yale didn’t have an advantage, and I even remember people flunking out. If I had the chance to repeat college, I would consider other options,” Chae said.

Medicine isn’t the only field that doesn’t depend on the perceived quality of the university. In an interview with journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy, a foreign affairs specialist from Virginia describes the universities of students they look for. “We have smart people from every type of college you can imagine—people from Middle Tennessee State University working alongside people from Harvard. And guess what? They’re all doing the same work with great enthusiasm, smarts and capability,” the specialist said. College is great, but students cannot pigeonhole themselves to a specific one.

I completely understand student’s desire to attend the best colleges. I, too, suffered from the same way of thinking. It wasn’t until I became fed up with the sleep deprivation and the long, sleepless nights that I began to realize the harmful effects of my behavior. To my fellow students at Poly and around the nation, take control of your lives. Don’t let the desire of attending prestigious colleges control your world.

 

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