Though most high schoolers will tell you that they dread the college process, it is one of the most verbalized topics in our lives.  If you listen closely, murmurs of students complaining about imperfections, sighs of teachers having to write recommendations, and neurotic concerns of helicopter parents will certainly clog your brain.

The Schreiber Times acknowledges the fact that the process isn’t getting any easier.  Though previous generations love to add how their own application processes were much less stressful than it is now, it does not change how competitive and hectic the obstacle of getting into college is today.

Just look around you: left and right students become obsessed with spending their time adding a few extra accomplishments to their embellished resumes for the sole purpose of trying to make themselves stand out among the enormous pool of applicants.

Although attending college is undoubtedly important, The Schreiber Times believes that the way the current process works diminishes the true meaning of higher education.

Unlike our parents’ generation who valued college for its scholarly contributions, the current college application process encourages students to value college for its ranking or name.

Unfortunately, too many people think that if your ridiculously expensive prep package doesn’t gift you with a perfect SAT score, a unique essay topic, and a top-notch recommendation, then you might as well flush your self-esteem down the drain.  Unless Naviance considers your future college to be “highly selective and prestigous,” your congratulatory Facebook status is pitied upon.

These ways of thinking exist in the collective mind

of the high school scene.  The Schreiber Times encourages students to abandon these ways of thinking in order to appreciate college for its intended purposes, not for the value of a ranking.