For almost four years, high school students work incredibly hard with the end goal of impressing colleges and gaining admission to those schools. But in the second half of senior year, there’s a strange role reversal that takes place: Suddenly, a student’s attempts to gain acceptance turn into universities begging them to attend.

Colleges attempt to entice you to come to their school through events like Accepted Students Day. Colleges use these events to show students what makes each school different from the others that have accepted the students. They are now marketing themselves to us.

At an event I attended, the university literally put on a song and dance. They had an a capella group from the school perform an original song about why we should attend their university. While this made me feel encouraged knowing that students actually enjoyed their university, I could see how others would be left with a different feeling.

This role reversal leaves some students feeling overwhelmed. They have gone from countless nights of stressing over the “what ifs” and uncertainty that come along with the college process to now receiving multiple emails and calls a day from colleges wondering where their university stands on that student’s list.

While some students are comforted by all of the attention, knowing that their hard work has paid off and there are universities that truly want them, others are disheartened by this degree of outreach and enthusiasm. They feel as though it is not genuine and colleges are just continuing the game that is the college process, one that feels more like a business than an education.

Ultimately, I believe that students will end up where they are meant to be. These Accepted Students events will allow students to see a university from the perspective of a potential student instead of just a visitor. They will begin to understand what they want out of their college experience and, as a result of that process, find themselves. But they will also feel a bit jaded by the process, which is part of the education seniors are getting.