As the college application process wraps up and seniors finally begin hearing back from schools, they are introduced to a new source of pressure: Everyone wants to know their admission status. 

The competitive nature of the college process comes to life when suddenly the whole grade knows who gets in and who gets rejected from each school. Choosing a college should be a personal journey about finding a good fit, but with today’s competition, it is equally about social pressure. While accepted college admissions are a proud experience one should share with their friends, the success shouldn’t be an in-your-face moment. 

Many students are undeniably guilty of feeding into the competition and obsessing over other people’s college journeys. On a night when a certain college is releasing its admissions decisions, people constantly refresh their social media feeds to see which of their classmates were accepted. 

Posting Instagram stories for friends accepted to college is a relatively new trend that derives from good intentions, but heightens the drama of college admissions. Since people tend to know where their classmates applied, they can instantly find out whether they were accepted by checking their friends’ social media posts. If no one posted for an individual, it is likely they did not get in. That person will then see their feed flooded with others who did not get into that school.

The mix of social media, nosy classmates and intense competition makes the whole process of getting in senior year (often overlooked because everyone considers junior year testing to be the worst) so much worse. 

We should basically all try to chill out and take a step back. We should stop obsessing over other people’s college status because it adds pressure to them and ourselves.