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New York Post
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Badminton deserves more than a shrug from colleges
This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education. I've spent the past year waking up at 6 a.m. to practice badminton swings in my backyard before school. Throughout the days, I've blasted YouTube tutorials on footwork and begged friends to rally with me in the junior atrium outside the gym. This was all done between homework assignments, meals, and sleep. Badminton meant everything to me—until my counselor circled the mention of the sport (I'd listed it as an interest on a survey) and wrote, 'Maybe pivot to a more 'serious' extracurricular?' Advertisement His words stung worse than any missed smash. Here's the truth: Badminton is serious. But American colleges, clinging to a dusty playbook that values football stadiums over cultural relevance, seem unwilling to see it, despite the fact that Badminton is a sport embraced by 220 million globally. 3 Aiden Tsang is advocating for Badminton to be taken more seriously in colleges and universities Badminton is a sport that is deeply woven into my culture, as it's a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and is widely considered traditional in China for recreational activity and family gatherings. Advertisement In my culture, it is often seen as a symbol of national pride due to the high level of competition and success Asian players achieve in the sport. The Rigid System that Fails Passion I know about rigid systems. Last fall, I dropped American Lit not because I hated Walt Whitman's poems, but because my teacher graded like a robot, confined to strict rubrics and his own interpretation of the text. Anything that didn't fit his format or his opinion on the texts we read in class received a mediocre grade. This thinking is not unlike billion-dollar TV deals for big sports. For those in the know, badminton doesn't need ESPN highlights. It's long been in the world's second-most popular participatory sport, with 220 million players globally. Yet in the U.S., it's treated like a garage-sale Ping-Pong set—something to dust off for PE class, and when not needed, it's put out near the mailbox with a sign 'free'. Advertisement 3 'Badminton is a sport that is deeply woven into my culture, as it's a sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and is widely considered traditional in China for recreational activity and family gatherings,' Tsang writes. This mindset hurts for someone like me who spends hours in practice, not unlike varsity-track athletes. Particularly, when you consider the payoff: no scouts, no scholarships, and no recognition on applications. Many colleges claim in their brochures that they want 'grit' and 'dedication.' So why does my hustle—juggling AP classes, finding time after school to practice footwork in my small apartment, and traveling an hour each way every other day to meet with my coach—get filed under 'hobby'? The Cultural Brush-Off Advertisement The impact of this mindset is huge. Walk into any badminton tournament in California, and you'll see a sea of Asian-American faces. The sport is woven into our communities, a tradition as well-known as lunar New Year red envelopes. My Chinese grandfather played in college…in China. Here? The NCAA offers zero Division I badminton programs. So when colleges post AAPi Heritage Month graphics while ignoring a sport central to my heritage, it's not just hypocritical—it's erasure. We're told to celebrate our culture, but only in ways that provide good marketing for their brochures. It's not surprising that my good friend and teammate quit last year. 'What's the point,' she asked me, 'if colleges think our passion is a joke?' The Myth of 'Revenue or Bust' Let's address the elephant in the room. Badminton doesn't make money. Neither do 43% of NCAA football programs, but they're still funded. Why? Tradition? Alumni nostalgia? Meanwhile, Gen Z is out here making badminton TikTok edits with millions of views. Proof that interest exists. And the reason for colleges to look ahead, not just behind. And don't get me started on the 'life sport' argument. Colleges love touting 'active lifestyles,' yet ignore a game people will play into their 80s. My knees will give out from badminton around the same time a football player's brain starts forgetting their kids' names. A Path Forward (that Doesn't Require a Stadium) I'm not asking for a $10 million arena, but communities and colleges can start small. Here's how. Advertisement Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters First, sanction badminton: Make badminton an NCAA sport so tournaments matter and allow people to be recruited, the same way track and field athletes or basketball players are followed. Next, credit the sport. Let PE classes count toward credits if students compete. Finally, expand the game. Why stop at Badminton? It isn't the only under-represented sport in the US. The NCAA organization needs to start doing more research and include sports like table tennis as well. Advertisement 3 Tsang continues to write, saying, 'If universities truly value grit, they'd start recognizing the dedication behind underrated sports like badminton.' Getty Images Badminton is more than a hobby—it's a test of discipline, a cultural anchor, and a sport colleges refuse to take seriously. My early morning practices and hour-long commutes to training aren't just 'dedication', they're proof that admissions committees see our passion as trivial. Colleges plaster 'Celebrate AAPI Heritage' on brochures while sidelining a sport central to Asian communities. If universities truly value grit, they'd start recognizing the dedication behind underrated sports like badminton. Sanction it. Credit it. Until then, their promises of 'diversity' are just empty words. An 11th-grader at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, Aiden Tsang intends to pursue a career in the medical field.
New York Post
22-04-2025
- General
- New York Post
Online gambling on the rise among high school students
This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education. The table is hosting three players: DerekC9, Fuzzypanda21, and Erik467. A crowd has formed behind the computer screen. Erik467, the username I'm using to represent a real person, has pocket aces: statistically, the best hand in poker. Almost immediately, Erik goes all in preflop (in poker terms: when the dealer hasn't revealed the river yet); he's confident in the value of his cards. Fuzzypanda21 folds, but DerekC9 calls. Since this is the high value table, Derek's call takes the pot north of a behemoth $200—a colossal sum for high school students. Now that the table is all in, the players must reveal their cards. DerekC9 shows a king and a jack. Erik reveals his formidable pair of aces towering over DerekC9's comparatively weak cards. The virtual dealer reveals the first card of the river—a two of hearts. The odds begin to shift in Erik's favor. The dealer flips the next card—a nine of clubs. Derek still doesn't have a viable hand to counter Erik's. The dealer reveals a 10 of hearts. Erik's aces seem to still be the winning ticket. It's time for the river card, and it feels like slow motion, as Erik's dreams of gambling grandeur crumble right before his eyes. A queen of spades. DerekC9 now has a straight, a higher hand than Erik's pair of aces. Just like that, Erik sinks $100 deeper into his quicksand of debt. A unique and quickly spreading social phenomenon is reaching high schools across the country. My high school alone hosts a variety of leagues, each with dozens of tables, and twice the amount of kids in the average classroom—all with varying game rules, cliques and levels of expertise. The latest fad: online poker. And it has kids hooked. Online tables are filled throughout the night, with peak hours around 11 p.m. and games spanning until the waking hours. Gripped by the thrill, high schoolers are wagering increasing amounts, irresponsibly and carelessly gambling away money. It is common to hear in the halls about 14 year-old kids owing $100-$300; in the most alarming case I have heard, one student lost over $1,500. This is made possible through the growing advent of online casinos. These digital gambling dens have been making poker sites more available to youths since the turn of the century. A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania revealed that 2.9 million kids play cards for money, 580,000 of them online. The 'kids' were aged 14-22 with 'most of these young people under the age 21.' Weak age restrictions and regulations are making it exceedingly easier for high schoolers to use these apps and websites. It may seem innocent for now: after all kids owe their debt to friends. It's tempting to say, 'kids will be kids, they're gambling with allowance money!' That's true…until it's not. The Office of Problem Gambling Services (OPGS) says that 'children introduced to 'harmless betting' by the age of 12 are four times more likely to engage in problem gambling later.' Another study by Alesia Burge on gambling addictions says, 'older adult problem gamblers who began earlier in life gambled more often than did their counterparts who began as adults.' Gambling as a youth not only increases your chance to carry the habit into adulthood, but also increases the severity of addiction. Isaac Carrillo is an 11th-grader at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY., Carillo wants to be a psychiatrist with his own practice. Dozens of studies have been conducted seeking to explain this clear correlation, with the consensus pointing to the brain as the main culprit. A study by Monique Ernst revealed that not yet fully formed frontal cortices makes kids more prone to addiction and risk taking, as that region controls logic and decision making. Since then, countless other studies have confirmed Ernst's claim, identifying that the immaturity of adolescent brains make addiction especially likely and dangerous for youths. Gambling permeates teen life more than you would think. Things can quickly get out of control for high school gamblers, with debts greatly exceeding petty cash between friends. Most of the conversation around teen addiction surrounds alcohol and nicotine, but a new vice is on the rise. Poker is a dangerous game. It's not meant to be in the hands of high schoolers during lunch period. Isaac Carrillo is an 11th-grader at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, NY., Carillo wants to be a psychiatrist with his own practice.
New York Post
22-04-2025
- General
- New York Post
Why high schools should implement modern home economics
This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education. NYC high schools are failing their students—not academically, but practically. Until the 1960s, NYC high schoolers learned to cook, clean and sew as part of their standard curriculum. In 2025, they'd be lucky if they knew how to do their laundry. For decades, home economics was a staple in NYC public school education. Boomer-generation teenagers mastered the art of household work, as the Department of Education (DOE) wanted to ensure teenagers knew how to properly 'adult.' As the Women's Revolution grew in the 1960s, a cultural shift away from home economic classes reflected changing societal norms around gender roles, and marked a shift to prioritize college and career prep courses. This rapid turnaround has had enormous benefits, including an explosion in women pursuing postgraduate education. However, it has also had unintended consequences on high schoolers' lack of readiness and ability to tend to basic life skills. What today's youth need are 'Adulting 101' classes. Home economics once taught students how to wash clothing, prepare food, clean a home and notably how to support a family and raise children. During this era, women were often expected to understand these skills while their husbands worked and provided an income for the household. Many argue that the removal of home economics was necessary in order to reshape education to fit a changing society. However, while this essential and progressive step enabled women to advance and become leaders, this move left behind access to crucial skills for students of all genders. The competencies that home economics courses taught are still applicable or could be reimagined to suit contemporary needs. Today, NYC high schools are designed to prepare teenagers for college, where they can acquire degrees in specified fields of study. This system sets up students to one day enter a career path, but often leaves many feeling lost or intimidated by everyday life skills outside of their occupation. Young adults are now either coddled by their parents, as they live at home longer, or are forced to navigate adulthood without basic household skills that older generations understood from an earlier age. As a student at the NYC iSchool, a small public high school offering original and innovative courses, I often ponder why home economics does not have a larger presence in my school. Furthermore, a lack of these skills makes youth feel adrift once they enter the 'real world.' I recently spoke with a relative who moved into his college dorm last fall. 'I had no idea how to cook real meals,' he admitted. 'I survived on takeout and instant ramen.' His story isn't unique—countless young adults are thrown into independence without the ability to care for themselves. To earn a high school diploma, the NYC DOE requires 44 credits, including math, science and government. At my school, many classes allow us to receive these credits in creative ways. For example, one of the classes offered at my school is called 'Pop-Up Restaurant,' which tasks students with creating a one-night-only restaurant within our school. This aims to educate students on the business fundamentals of the service industry while providing hands-on experience, which is something I am eager for. While this is a thoughtful start to developing practical, real world capabilities, a more comprehensive approach would benefit students greatly. One might wonder why a NYC public school offers classes like 'Pop-up Restaurant' but not other key aspects of home economics. The simple truth is that these courses cannot easily be classified under any of the NYC DOE required credits. Zack Leitner Oftentimes, teenagers go from being in situations where they have a parent or guardian to cook their meals and do their laundry, to being left to fend for themselves, which can be a lifestyle shock. This should come at no surprise, as a survey conducted by Braun Research found that while 82% of parents reported doing chores as children, only 28% had their children doing chores, showing that these tasks are a new, unfamiliar experience for countless students. While aspects of the home economics courses of the past might not be entirely relevant in 2025, the concepts that could be taught in an 'Adulting 101' class would be worthwhile to virtually everyone today. Gender roles are far less rigid now than they were decades ago, so all students would benefit from the lessons taught in these classes, especially if they are adapted to address modern-day needs. In a 2020 Yale University survey of high schoolers, almost 80% said stress was the feeling they experienced most often during a typical school day. This indicates why a modern-day home economics course should be used to address mental health. Indeed, if these courses were reinstated in NYC schools today, they could cover essential topics like stress management, nutrition and self-sufficiency expertise. Students are often ill-equipped to deal with these issues, even though they are vital to one's well-being. Many high schoolers spend their days consuming energy drinks and eating Takis, frequently stressed about homework and anxious about friend drama, without realizing the destructive impact and vicious cycle of their cumulative habits. Contemporary home economics could approach this and provide essential coping techniques. Seventy-five years ago, life skills may have meant caring for the home, but today, it means that, plus self-care, in our ever-changing and complex society. Currently, domestic science higher-ed programs provide more advanced educational options by exploring various aspects of child development and family well-being. High schools must follow suit and require a curriculum that teaches students the fundamentals to eventually manage a household and themselves, setting them on a path to success for what comes next as they enter adulthood. While taking chemistry and geometry is undoubtedly crucial, what happens to a graduate who leaves high school with a strong understanding of mathematics but cannot cook a nutritional meal? My school is taking a step in the right direction by designing courses that adapt to the needs of the 21st-century, but more must be done. The NYC DOE needs to reinstate a modernized version of home economics courses that support teenagers' health as they transition into adulthood. If schools are designed to prepare students to succeed past high school, it's time they provide all the tools to do so. A 10th-grader at NYC iSchool in Manhattan, Leitner wants to pursue travel writing and business.
New York Post
22-04-2025
- General
- New York Post
Are popular phone stashers worth the money?
This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education. Picture this: It's 9:30 in the morning and kids are in their first class of the day. Clank! Clank! Clank! This is heard all throughout the halls: kids slamming their Yondr pouches on the ground, on their lockers, in bathroom stalls, against the walls and on any other hard surface they could find. It sounds like someone is taking a baseball bat and swinging it into a wall. All of this energy to hopefully break open their pouches so that they can take their phones out. But guess what…Even though this is a main rule of the school, students don't care and will stop at nothing to retrieve their phones. For those that are wondering what a Yondr pouch is, let me define it. A Yondr pouch is a small container or bag that you put your phone inside of and then close it but it can't be reopened without using a special magnetic 'key.' Schools use Yondr pouches to give students the opportunity to have a better education and also to allow students to be able to focus better in class without their phones distracting them. As we know this generation is so locked in on their phones that the knowledge that they get in school doesn't stick in their mind so they lose focus while having their phones. Yondr pouches are helpful in school because they help students stay focused in class and improve their grades along with less distractions. Also, they keep people in tune with the class because their phones are not there to distract them. But Yondr pouches are also useless because at 9:30 in the morning there are five students in one bathroom stall trying to open up the Yondrs by slamming them against the inside of the stall. Clank! Clank! Clank! They slam them hard on the ground in order to break it open to gain access to their phones. All of this work so they can spend time in the bathroom with their phone out of the Yondr pouch making tik toks and not coming right back to class. It has become a common thing in my school to wait 20, 30, 40 minutes to go to the bathroom because someone is 'using it' but really they are trying to break out their phones. That bathroom pass is a precious just don't care because they know that the teachers don't care if their phones are in or out the Yondr pouch. Students know that if they don't get caught with their phones the teachers can't take them. But if they do manage to get caught with their phone the teacher has to take it till the end of the day and that's when they get it back. To get a bunch of different perspectives on whether or not Yondr pouches are helpful or totally pointless, I interviewed some students and teachers to get a variety of different perspectives. I asked them these questions: Do you like Yondr pouches? Do you find them helpful or useless? Here is what they said: An 11th-grader named Jenayah says 'Yondr pouches are useless because kids still find a way to gain access to their phones. At this point the students at Achievement First Ujima High School will basically do anything to gain access to their technology after putting their phones in the pouch.' A teacher named Mr. Yearwood at Ujima High school says 'Yondr pouches are useful because you don't really need to use your phones in class and they don't really help you. If anything they make it harder for the knowledge that you get in class to actually sink in your mind.' Another teacher named Ms. G says, 'Yondr pouches are useful because cell phones and technology are designed to be distractions for kids so Yondr pouches bring a huge improvement to our students. Kids from last school year have improved their grades in a major way.' Shiloh Dyall Courtesy of Shiloh Dyall. A 10th-grader named Shanya says, 'Yondr pouches are useless and a waste of money because kids are breaking/forcing them open to get to their phones because they can't be away from it.' A teacher named Ms. Christie says 'The Yonder pouches are a great addition if used correctly in the school building. Students are more focused and it removes the immediate conflicts in school because the information does not get to the designated student(s) until the day is over.' A student at Ujima high school who goes by 'The Way Out' say, 'Yondr pouches are a waste of time because they get broken and us students still find a way to open them. They are a waste of money.' Another teacher at Ujima high school named Mr. Kantor says, 'Yondr pouches are a waste of money because kids are just damaging them and still finding ways to use their electronics even though they're not supposed to. It doesn't make sense that the school is spending all this money to buy these pouches because students are either breaking them or forcing them open to get to their phones. I think a better solution would be to have some system where we collect everyone's phones and keep them in a locker. I've heard of other schools doing this successfully and I totally think we could implement something like that.' The principal at Ujima high school named Ms. Effah says, 'Yondr pouches are purposeful if students believe and understand that it's not a punishment, it's a discipline to show students that we care about their education and they should too because their phones are a distraction so without them in the way their grades are improved.' The majority of the students that I have interviewed believe that Yondr pouches are a waste of time and money. According to CBS News and other news outlets, it costs schools on average $25-30 per Yondr pouch. So if a school has a few hundred students, plus all of the extras they keep, that costs already over $10,000 which could have been used for other things like school dances, field trips, snacks for the students, better lunches…to just name a few (like actually buying us real pizza. Cough Cough Ms. Effah). Yondr pouches are both helpful and useless because while student grades are improving and attention is up in class the Yondr pouches are not really effective because kids are still finding a way to get access to their phones or airpods and while that doesn't relate to everybody it is definitely about 80% of kids who still find ways to use their phones in class. Another benefit of Yondr pouches is that it does allow students to interact with their peers more during lunch, classes and throughout the hallways. They are less likely to fail classes because they don't have their electronics to distract them and therefore their school work and grades improve. So are Yondr pouches helpful or a complete waste? It's both. On the one hand, their restrictive nature brings concerns about student autonomy, emergency access and the effectiveness of forced discipline but, as was mentioned a bunch, they do help students focus more, increase socialization, and help with getting better grades. Schools should consider alternative methods to promote a healthier, more sustainable approach to phone use because I'm tired of waiting 30 minutes to use the bathroom and I'm tired of hearing the obsessive clank! clank! clank! all day, everyday. A 10th-grader at Achievement First Ujima High School in Brooklyn, Dyall hopes to be a pediatric nurse one day.
New York Post
22-04-2025
- General
- New York Post
How academic pressure and college admissions cause student stress
This article is one of the winning submissions from the New York Post Scholars Contest, presented by Command Education. 'The first question he asked me was 'What is your GPA,' not 'What is your name,' ' Joe, a student at a prestigious New York City private school, says, describing his interaction with another student. Although this conversation occurred years ago, these words have remained in his mind ever since—a reminder of how grades can dominate social interaction. This interaction is just one example of the toxic and overly competitive culture around academics that students are subjected to. For some teenagers, grades are more than measures of academic success—they are measures of self-worth that define their entire futures. In a survey sent out to members of the school community, 91% of respondents reported that they were stressed about academics and college. This atmosphere is reflected in the way that some students interact with each other, Ryan says. 'There are certain people that are constantly talking about college and GPA. I've heard so many people say things like if you don't have a 3.9 GPA, you won't get into college.' Advertisement This competitive culture is amplified when dealing with college admissions, Eliza says. 'Last year, once admissions decisions came out, some students circulated spreadsheets of where each student was going, or whether they got deferred or rejected,' she says. 'It's one thing to want to know where your classmates are going, but this method is shaming, probing and feeds into the toxic culture surrounding college admissions.' This increased pressure is partly a result of the sharp decline in acceptance rates in the past few years. Take the example of the University of California, Los Angeles: 20 years ago, in the academic year 2004-2005, their acceptance rate was approximately 20%. As of the 2023-2024 school year, their acceptance rate was half that at approximately 9%. Another example is Yale University: in 2004, their acceptance rate was approximately 10%. As of 2023, their acceptance rate has also halved, resting at slightly below 5%. While acceptance rates have declined, students' expectations have remained at the same level, causing college stress to increase exponentially. Furthermore, many students' parents attended Ivy League schools and other top colleges, intensifying the pressure to live up to the legacy of their parents, Ryan says. This stress is exacerbated at private schools because students are aware of the financial investment made by their parents and want this investment to pay off, Clary says. 'I know that my education is a huge investment and I don't want it to go to waste. I don't want to disappoint my parents because I know I owe it to them to go somewhere good.' Advertisement Due to the pressure to maintain their grades, most students end up working for several hours per night. Out of the students surveyed, 55% reported having three to four hours of work per night. This figure is similar to the national average for high-achieving private and public schools. A study conducted by Challenge Success, a nonprofit affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, found that students at high-achieving private and public schools averaged three hours of homework per night. Additionally, students also partake in extracurricular activities, often to enhance their college applications. Sixty-four percent of students surveyed say that they spend over seven hours a week on extracurricular activities, which, if evenly distributed, adds an additional hour of work per day. 'Almost every weekend, I spend virtually all of Saturday and Sunday debating. This causes a work backlo' where I have a lot more work every night because I don't have that extra time over the weekend,' Daisy says. As a result of busy schedules, most students do not get the recommended amount of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends eight-plus hours of sleep for teenagers. Out of the students surveyed, 73% say they get less than seven hours of sleep per night, with 10% of them reporting that they get less than five hours of sleep per night. Since students are consistently getting low amounts of sleep, it is difficult for them to readjust to the recommended sleep schedule even when they have free time, Dale says. 'Because of school and extracurricular activities, I go to sleep at 12 or 1 a.m. even if I don't have work. My body is so used to that schedule that I can't go to sleep earlier.' This lack of sleep is part of a larger national trend—the National Sleep Foundation found that 80% of teenagers get less than the recommended amount of sleep, highlighting how sleep deprivation in teenagers is not specific to certain schools, but rather a global phenomenon. Ahana Gadiyaram Although in the short-term, the effects of consistent sleep deprivation might not be evident, they can be detrimental to students' health in the long-term. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, lack of sleep can impact productivity, ability to learn and social functioning. These skills are especially important as students grow and advance into professional careers, illustrating how this short-term decision can disadvantage them in the future. Additionally, sleep deprivation can lead to severe physical and mental health problems, including depression, heart disease, high blood pressure and increased likelihood of strokes. Advertisement This academic pressure also hinders students' social lives, Clary says. 'I spend such a large part of my weekend studying or doing work for my extracurriculars that it's really hard to spend time with my friends.' Clary's opinion is not unusual. In fact, 73% of students surveyed reported that academic stress had negatively affected their social lives. Over 55% of respondents mentioned that they go out with friends once a month, at most, because of schoolwork. Furthermore, students find that the competitive atmosphere can inhibit meaningful social connections, Jared says. 'When you're so competitive, it makes it hard to be happy for your friend when something is going well for them. You're constantly comparing yourself to your peers.' The long-term impacts of reduced social connection are potent. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe the long-term effects of loneliness as having the potential to increase a person's propensity to health issues like diabetes, depression, anxiety, dementia and heart disease. Although most students might not be completely lonely, academic pressure has the potential to distance students from their friends, family and community. This academic stress reaches its peak at the start of senior year, when students are applying to college, Jenna, a senior, says. 'When I got into college and one of my peers didn't, she asked me what my GPA and SAT scores were. Later, I heard her telling other people, 'I have no idea how she got in over me. She does not deserve it, to be honest.' ' This instance is just one of the several times where seniors felt that their college acceptances were being analyzed by other students. Advertisement A reason for this tendency is the unpredictability of college admissions, Elijah says. 'Some people think that just because they had a higher GPA or SAT score than someone else, they deserved to get accepted over that person. If they get rejected, they start thinking that the other people who got accepted didn't deserve it,' he says. 'Although I understand where they're coming from, it's important to recognize that college admissions are dependent on so many different factors, including essays, course rigor and extracurriculars.' Therefore, it is unfair for students to make assessments on who deserved to get accepted into colleges. However, this competitive atmosphere is not a result of the school's administration, but rather a reflection of the character of the student body, Simone says. 'Our school is constantly telling us that where we go to college is not the most important thing in the world–what's more important is actually learning and enjoying the process.' Although most students are stressed about college, 10% of students surveyed say they didn't feel much pressure. 'I use school as an opportunity to figure out what I like and what I'm interested in. I'm not too worried about where I'll end up because I know that I work really hard and will end up somewhere good. There's no use worrying about the outcome,' Daelyn says. Giselle believes that this intense pressure surrounding the college admissions process is unwarranted. 'People focus too much on where they want to go to college. I feel like it's more important to get a hold of some skills, try your hardest, and not worry too much about the outcome,' she says. 'It's not about where you go to college, but what you make of it.' So, is there a way to break out of this cycle of pressure? Recent graduate Sandy believes that there is. 'Many of the factors in the process are out of your control, so there's no use worrying,' he says. 'What colleges really want to see is someone who has worked hard and made an impact in their community. You just have to be yourself, and you'll end up at the best place for you.' His opinion offers students a reminder that although college admissions can feel overwhelming, trusting in themselves and their abilities will lead them to a place where they can thrive. An 11th-grader at Horace Mann in the Bronx, Gadiyaram aspires to be a lawyer.
