Schreiber should not offer a college application support center with dedicated college counselors.  Providing such a center would be a waste of resources and time and would only cause students to stress more about the college process.  Furthermore, Schreiber already has numerous resources that students have access to for free, such as guidance counselors, assembly programs, and a writing center where they can receive feedback on their college essays.  Thus, creating an additional college preparation center would be an unwise decision in regards to the school’s limited resource budget and the mental health of its student body.

Creating a college preparation center at Schreiber would be a waste of resources and money, which could otherwise go towards supporting other Schreiber activities.  Investing in the clubs at Schreiber would allow these groups to grow further and achieve more.  For example, if sports teams had higher budgets, they may end up performing better during the season.  This success may even benefit one’s college resume.

“Schreiber should not add a college center because the money could be better used to support Schreiber’s existing clubs,” said junior Nicolas Garcia.  

Wasting money on a college center at Schreiber instead of using that money elsewhere could even negatively impact the student body’s ability to be accepted into top colleges and universities.

Meeting with college counselors on a regular basis would also add even more stress to the student body.  High school students are already overwhelmed by the need for a daily balance between clubs, sports, homework, studying, and socialization.  Meeting with a college counselor, who would push students to over-achieve, would have detrimental effects on the overall mental health of students.  

“Adding a college center or extra college counselors would add unnecessary stress to students that are already stressed out,” said freshman Miles Park.  

High school students should not have to stress about college.  The college that one goes to does not define one’s level of intelligence.  Instead, students should be pushed to work on their mental health, as they strive to learn about what interests them, and should be given advice for general life improvement.

“[College is] supposed to prime you for the next chapter of learning, and for the chapter beyond that.  It’s supposed to put you in touch with yourself, so that you know more about your strengths, weaknesses and values and can use that information as your mooring and compass in a tumultuous, unpredictable world,” said Frank Bruni, a columnist for The New York Times.

High school should be treated similarly, as a time for students to figure out their identity and aspirations for the future.  Worrying about which college they attend is simply unnecessary and a damaging distraction to students’ physical and mental health, which should be Schreiber’s priority. 

Moreover, Schreiber already offers enough services dedicated towards helping students apply to college.  The guidance counselors and writing center are great resources that students may seek out if they are interested in preparing for college and need help.  Despite this, many students still do not take advantage of these wonderful resources.  Expanding these services when the majority of Schreiber students fail to use them would be an excessive waste of time and money.  

“Providing extra college resources is unnecessary because Schreiber already has guidance counselors that students interested in preparing for college can reach out to,” said junior Ariel Im.

Schreiber does not need to waste its resources on improving a service that most of its students fail to use in the first place.  Creating a college application center would be a waste of money that is no more effective than receiving advice from current guidance counselors and writing center responders.

Therefore, Schreiber should not add a college counseling center because the money could be better spent elsewhere, including on clubs and sports.  Excessive college preparation is unnecessary and would damage the mental health of the student body.  Overall, the addition of a college center at Schreiber would be a poor decision for the school and its students.