September 29, 2004
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Posted on Tue, Sep. 28, 2004
Stressed out: Under pressure
STUDIES, ACTIVITIES TO IMPRESS COLLEGES TAKE TOLL ON TEENS
Read This! Writer
You’ve felt it. The last-minute panic as you furiously cram for a big test, the ubiquitous pressure to get into a “good” college, the disappointment when you don’t score as high as you would have liked on the SAT.
Stress. It’s everywhere, especially in high school.
Students seem to be under increasing pressure to do well in school not for their own enrichment but as a stepping stone toward that elusive college dream.
They take advanced placement or international baccalaureate courses to impress colleges. Some participate in activities such as journalism, debate, sports and volunteer services not to enjoy themselves or learn a new activity but to pad applications.
Striving to be the best
“The question becomes, `How many APs can I take and how much can I raise my GPA?’ ” says Tracy Chou, a senior at St. Francis High School in Mountain View.
And it’s not just to placate their parents or counselors. While a fair amount of pressure comes from both of these sources, even more emanates from the students themselves, who strive to outperform classmates.
“My parents do put some pressure on me,” says Chou, who recently made the news for earning the highest possible scores on several key tests: SAT, ACT and several AP exams. “But now it’s mostly just me wanting to do better. I don’t feel comfortable taking it easy and goofing off when I’m surrounded by all these people trying to boost their GPAs and get good grades.”
Susan Drake, a guidance counselor at Gunn High School in Palo Alto, agrees. “It’s driven by the community we live in. They think that if they’re not doing what their friends are doing, they won’t have a chance.”
Many are not even sure why they are working toward this goal.
“Students have lost sight of their ultimate goal because of the way colleges package their information,” Drake says. “They take a cookie-cutter approach to admission rather than finding their own individual voice.”
The pressure builds
While students tend to place the blame on external sources, including parents and peers, or on their own drive to do well, many also procrastinate and become even more stressed by the last-minute work.
“As a high school student you do eight hours of work a day and you don’t want to come home and do more, so you procrastinate,” says Monica Alba, a senior at Presentation High School in San Jose. “Don’t procrastinate. If you do things on time, you’ll find yourself much happier.”
That stress can start building from an early age — as early as kindergarten, according to an 2002 article on WebMD, a health-news Web site. When a teen finally gets to the high-pressure environment of high school, the stress can be even more intense.
And what exactly happens when, suddenly, everything is too much?
“Right now — three weeks into school — I’m already seeing three kids that are having actual physical problems because of stress,” says Cindy Gowen, a student advocate who works at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. “At some point, it just becomes overwhelming.”
“Sometimes there’s just so much I want to do, and so much I’m excited to be doing,” says Hannah Friedman, a junior at Fremont High, “that I end up just sitting there and not having the energy to do anything except think about what I don’t have the energy to do.”
The consequences can stretch beyond the inability to juggle activities, making the mental pressure a huge issue.
Teens can internalize that pressure, Gowen says, “and it becomes a voice in their head.”
The big picture
Some students, however, see the bigger picture, picking extracurricular activities that cater to their passions and goals — instead of just filling a spot on a college application.
“I understand that I’m choosing to do these activities. It comes to a point where you have to choose between extracurriculars or homework,” Alba says.
Although she is applying to several top colleges, Alba also does not feel pressured to get into a certain university.
“I’m not expected to get into a name-brand school. It’ll be OK with me and my parents if I don’t end up wearing a Harvard sweatshirt,” she says.
“I’m working toward getting into a college that I can help build a foundation for the career that I want to build. I’m working toward doing what I love.”
Ragini Kathail is a junior at Pinewood School in Palo Alto. Read This! writer Anna Westendorf, a senior at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, contributed to this report.
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