My high school is extremely competitive and with an environment of constant academic pressure, students have casted a permanently cold facade in efforts to brave the severely askew attitudes of their peers. With college rapidly approaching naturally the intensity of fear within students is greater, and I was sitting in class a few days ago when I realized how wrong the mentality toward applications was. Students label one another by their grades, deeming each other’s college worthiness by a mere score. I would think after this many years that they would know such empty numbers are not a reflection of intelligence or ability. It is the knowledge retained and a will to learn that make someone a genuine candidate.

I’ve never been a good standardized test taker, and while many assume I use that as an excuse for having “average” scores, in actuality people are molded for different strengths. I could write an essay and obtain reasonable proficiency, while for others multiple choice questions provide them a boost. In this way I think the stigma of these monetary scores meaning something of value to an individual is detrimental in the long run. The student body has become homogenized in a set of ethics to obtain a score at all costs, and use them as an indication of what each person is composed of. Rather than helping one another in the process, it increasingly feels like we are weighing the abilities of others.

I just wish that students would view the application process a bit differently than the current mindset, as it is contributing to an unhealthy climate that generates negativity. I truly refuse to believe that getting a perfect standardized test score, or taking the hardest classes, is the only way to get into a good school. If you sincerely love a class you will study for the sake of wanting to know more, rather competing to outscore other classmates. Authenticity and passion are the two words that should inspire progress, and I strongly believe in resisting the temptation to align yourself with a number–for you are simply worth more.