STUDENT VOICE: Getting into a top university is stressful, unfair and overrated

Additionally, teens’ social media feeds are filled with posts like “Do these five things if you want to get into Harvard” and “You’ll never believe where this INSANE applicant got accepted to college!”

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However, elite universities are no guarantee of success, and the immense importance we place on them sends harmful and dangerous messages to today’s youth.

This year, my senior year of high school, everything changed. The Supreme Court ruling that overturned Affirmative Action and changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process caused confusion and tension. Still, I applied to universities like Columbia and the California Institute of Technology.

My classmates and I have been vocal about our frustration with the delays in the FAFSA application process. Some have had to delay their college acceptances (Early Action) until they were sure that attending their dream school would not put them in financial difficulty. Although we were encouraged to seek help at school, we only had one counselor dedicated solely to helping a class of nearly 800 high school seniors with their FAFSA and college application questions.

The mistakes and delays in the FAFSA application had a huge impact on where we would spend the next four years. And from a young age, we were taught that those four years alone would determine the rest of our lives. I was lucky to have supportive friends and family and the luxury of a computer and internet at home. But without thousands to spend on expert advice and services, many of my classmates and I were often left in the dark.

Some of my friends said they had no idea how to fill out the FAFSA form with its complicated wording. My dad and I watched a step-by-step YouTube video and an Instagram video I saved, “What NOT to Do on the FAFSA,” to figure out how to fill it out.

I’ve heard stories of kids who stopped talking to friends and family and whose self-perception changed after receiving rejection letters from elite schools. I felt the same way. After six rejections, I wondered if I was good enough to study astrophysics, the subject I want to study in college.

My ambitious dreams seemed foolish. After years of trying, I planned to stay in my home state of Texas to attend UT Austin.

Suddenly, some people changed their attitude towards me, even though I was really the same girl. I had just become overwhelmed by an increasingly stressful and competitive process.

A person who goes to a public school is no less likely to succeed than a person who goes to Harvard. I’m sick of the college tutors, essay writing companies, and social media creators that make some teenagers think differently.

Related: OPINION: After Affirmative Action, let’s leave our obsession with the Ivy Leagues and other elite schools behind

I got a call from one of my dream schools, the University of Chicago. I had been taken off the waitlist, but it seemed likely that I wouldn’t be able to attend because of the cost.

Finally, with the help of financial support, I will go there this fall.

We are forced to believe that only the very best colleges matter. If high school students are immersed in this mindset, it’s no wonder some feel like their world will end if they don’t get accepted.

There are so many things that go into the college admissions process that we can’t control, but we can change the culture that surrounds it. We can start by offering free support to families who need it.

Siddhi Raut is graduating from Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas, and will be a freshman at the University of Chicago this fall.

This story about applying to elite colleges was produced by The Hechinger Reporta nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s Newsletter.

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