Every day from the minute students set foot in a high school, and even beforehand, students hear the phrase “It looks good on a college application” more times than they can count.

Too much pressure is put on students to do things that look attractive on college applications, especially with college being seen as something essential to succeed.

Students are put under immense amounts of stress to be involved in so many things and take classes that they’d rather not for the appeal. This frenzy is being started earlier and earlier with it even affecting middle schoolers. More students are applying to college because the population of 18-to-24-year-olds has increased, leading to far lower acceptance rates and higher stakes to have an application stand out. Students are taking more AP classes, doing more college entrance exam prep, doing more extracurriculars, and volunteering in attempts to sell themselves to universities. This increased pressure leads to anxiety, stress, and depression. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, this stress may not be entirely worth it, with one in three students who graduate college being in a job that doesn’t require a college degree.

Overall, less pressure should be put on students to do things for the appeal on college applications. More of a focus should be put on learning and not the idea that every student needs to go to college.