How the college game became ‘do or die’

It’s Monday night and WHS senior Adriana Vergara is stuck in the library until closing with papers, an ACT book and her laptop littering the table. Running on six hours of sleep, she is tasked with balancing rigorous coursework while completing the Common Application, Coalition Application and financial aid documents.

Vergara’s routine is the new normal for students as the college process makes its way into the lives of all high schoolers. Students have days filled with AP classes, standardized test preparation, essay workshops and extracurriculars, all to try and please admissions officers.
WHS Director of Counseling Ms. Maureen Mazzarese has noticed a theme in the past five to eight years. “There’s this impending feeling that everything [students] do is ‘do or die,’ ” Mazzarese said. “But that’s not the case. One bad grade on a math test won’t affect their acceptance.”
The Start
According to WHS students, the process begins long before the applications are released—sometimes, years before.
Take WHS freshman Jacob Chalfant, for example. “Over the summer I became obsessed with NYU,” Chalfant said. “I’ve been researching it like crazy since then. I want to start my applications my junior year so I won’t be stressed.”
Vergara, however, said she didn’t consider the process seriously until she took her first standardized test: “Taking the SAT was the first real step I took to begin the entire process, and it propelled me to start going on college tours and thinking more about my application.”
WHS Guidance Counselor Ms. Jamie Glickman credits students’ drive to start the process earlier to the rise in the accessibility of information. “By the time students get to the high school, some already have a general idea of what they want to do,” Glickman said.
Building a Résumé
Once students begin to think about college, the hunt for the acceptance letters begins.
“Students are constantly asking themselves, ‘What can I do to separate myself? I’ve got to find a niche, I need to do something that stands out,’ ” Glickman said.
WHS senior Marisa Li agrees. “Most of what I’ve done in high school has been guided towards boosting my résumé and trying to be a good candidate for college,” Li said.
For many students, this means selecting a course load that is competitive.

As a freshman, Chalfant said he’s thinking about AP courses: “I’m already freaking out about which ones I’m going to take and which will look better on my application.”
Mazzarese said counselors are “kind of stuck” in this situation. “We have to make sure kids fill their graduation requirements, so we have to be attentive to classes and rigor,” she said. “It becomes difficult to find a balance between that and also giving the child the opportunity to explore classes where they have a genuine interest.”
College Counselors
In order to ease the stress of numerous requirements and impending deadlines, many students seek out tutors or college counselors for help. WHS senior Fiona Gillespie said her counselor initially helped her compile a list of schools, and is now helping her with “anything that has writing.”
Some students hire college counselors to make sense of the overall process, while others focus on specific areas of the application, like test scores and personal essays.
Tutor Mr. Michael Baker can be found in the Westfield Memorial Library nearly every day, rotating between his 30-plus WHS students. Baker said his job is to “de-stress” the application process by helping students with their essays and supplements.
“The students absolutely make the college process over-complicated because they’re so stressed out,” said Baker. “I’m trying to make it quick and simple for them by teaching them the efficient ways to tackle the Common Application.”
Parental Involvement
For the purpose of preserving anonymity, the parents quoted below will be referred to as Parent A, Parent B and Parent C.
Alongside tutors and counselors are parents who are supporting their children through the applications. Parents see all sides of this process—from the exciting to the hysterical.
“It’s a competitive world and the business of applying to college is no different,” said Parent A. “I tell my son that it will all work out, which I truly believe. Right now, he’s too entrenched in the process to feel this himself, but I think he’ll come around.”
Parent B said, “My daughter stresses about how demanding the college process is with the numerous deadlines and some separate applications entirely.”
Parents attribute increased pressure to the overwhelming nature of the college process. “I think the application process starts too early and the entire process causes anxiety,” said Parent C. “My child has definitely felt the pressure of trying to figure out which major to select without a clear understanding of the corresponding occupations.”
Not Over Yet
Adriana Vergara has many more late nights in the library ahead of her. Now she’s turning her attention to finishing applications for 11 colleges while also managing her rigorous course load along with extracurriculars.
“The college process is obviously very stressful and time-consuming,” she said. “I just want it to be over already.”