Allured by a school’s prestige, students tend to view top ranked colleges with admiration and respect. But why do students care so much about getting into these higher ranked colleges? There are several reasons that may contribute to this desire—the school’s reputation, the desire to challenge oneself and excel, external pressure from student’s family members, competition and overall quality of education.
Moreover, students are constantly stressing over school work, AP exams, sports, their GPAs, and the SATs. To some students, parents are the main factor contributing to the student’s need to have a “perfect” college application.
Ivy League schools are among the highest ranked schools in the nation and are extremely selective. Getting accepted into these schools typically conveys a high level of intelligence and diligence that may attract future employers.
“I think as a teen preparing for higher level education after middle school graduation, names are always being thrown at us,” said junior Ashely Meyer. “Even in middle school, if we hear that a high school student was accepted into colleges like Harvard or Princeton, we are conditioned from the first time we hear these names to know that those universities are highly selective in choosing.”
Furthermore, most students, under enormous pressure from their families, set lofty goals for themselves.
Not wanting to disappoint their family members, these students work as hard as they can to put together the best college applications they possibly can.
As high school students at Schreiber are well aware, there is a lot of competition among students here.
“A lot of time when people don’t really know each other and they ask which school a person goes to, they’re looking for a way to identify that person,” said junior Paige Torres. “Are they smarter than him/her? Not as smart? Just as smart? Students tend to compare themselves to other students. They also want to know if they could make it into the same school, as maybe they consider themselves more capable of being admitted into the same college.”
Students compete with each other to be at the top of their classes and to have a greater chance at getting admitted into the top schools.
Those who succeed and get into Ivy League and other top-ranked schools are viewed as the winners at Schreiber High School.
These big name schools provide an unparalleled quality of education and are recognized for opening many doors for their students.
“Everyone knows the Ivy Leagues by name because they’re known for their unparalleled education,” said junior Natasha Mohan. “So obviously if you went to one of these top tier schools you got a stellar education.”
Pressure from society and family definitely does seem to play a large role in motivating students to attend top ranked schools.
However, students should also recognize that attending a top ranked school will provide them with greater opportunities after high school graduation.