Research

by Gabriella Davis

Is there too much pressure on teenagers to go to college?

The Hallahan class of 2020 has been asked the question many times, “Who is thinking about going to college?’’ While it may seem like a very easy questions, in reality, it is quite a lot to think about. What career do I want to get into? Can I pay for college? All of these question start to add up. These questions and more add up significantly. This stress can go beyond just high school, all the way to college. More college freshman than ever are dropping out after their first year because college can be overwhelming, especially through everything that takes place on campus.

Stressing out teens too early is building an unhealthy frame of mind that will accompany many young people into adulthood. Pressure can cause many health concerns: heart problems, headaches, anxiety, depression, and can even affect the nervous system. 138 out of 150 students stated that they have too much pressure put upon them by grades, tests, colleges, and finals week. Girls are more likely to cover up stress; though female students are more likely to experience sizable amounts of stress, they typically handle it more thoughtful than males. The boys, on the other hand, don’t often handle it as healthily, according to Dr. Sandler, they typically react to the anxieties by dropping out mentally. Social pressures push girls towards constant perfection throughout all of life: school, extracurricular activities, appearances, relationships, and friendships without ever showing signs of exhaustion. In fact, 55% of girls told the psychologist that they place almost unnecessary amounts of stress on themselves, to maintain society’s near impossible expectations of flawlessness. Dr.Sandler’s research revealed that less than 50% of the most stressed-out female students believed that their parents and guardians didn’t notice the mental and physical cracks forming. Along with “less stress” and “more sleep,” the primary thing that females desire is more communication and support from parents and guardians. They believe bouncing their feelings off of a more experienced individual, who knows them well, will prove to be game changing in better managing their time, emotions, friendships, and other messy hallmarks of being a teen.

Are parents the source of pressure? Unfortunately, it seems to be that way. Teenage patients of Mrs. Coleman often will complain to her that their parents are putting too much pressure on them to get into a good college, that they can’t even have fun as a sophomore in high school. Parents want their kids to do well, but unrealistic expectations have unthinkably damaging long-term psychological effects. Almost 1 in 5 teens have thought about suicide, about 1 in 6 teens have made plans for suicide, and more than 1 in 12 teens have attempted suicide in the last year, all because of academic demands, homework, and a grouchy teacher or two. Eighty-nine percent of teenagers believed that classroom assignments and exams played a major role in developing anxiety. Beyond suicide, self-harm has reached greater numbers than before, with the increase in school and life-related pressures. 46% of polled teachers claimed they knew of kids in middle and high school harming themselves. Cutting seems to be the most popular trend beneath this tragic umbrella, although anorexia (which, by the way, has little to do with simply “wanting to be skinny”) and other eating disorders appear to be on the rise as well. These kids are in an unusually stressful, demanding, and crowded world, which is unlike anything most adults deal with. The pressures of college, whether it’s trying to impress parents or to maintain a higher grade point average, take hold of many students, stopping them from working and attending class regularly. Is all this pressure really worth it?

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