<p>I have a nine hour school day. Then I have after school stuff for atleast another hour and a half each day. Plus an hour commute.</p>
<p>Seriously people need to stop using this board as a way to brag/ complain about their workload. If you want to do so, do it to your momma. Or write in a journal. Something.</p>
<p>You know what schools want? Kids with passion. Yeah, the schools want to make sure you are capable of handling their workload (that’s where the GPA and test scores come in), but beyond that it’s about pursuing things you truly love. Thid has been said a million times before, but there’s a reason for it: Colleges can tell whether you’re doing something because you enjoy it or its resume padding. </p>
<p>Those kids doing 6 clubs in the article? Do you think they enjoy it? I think not. </p>
<p>And btw, colleges don’t usually want stressed out, egptostical kids. They want kids who are appreciating and enjoying their time on campus. Kids who love their college so much that they will look upon their college years with fond memories, especially when a letter comes in the mail requesting ‘alumni support’, i.e. their checkbooks.</p>
<p>amen brotha.</p>
<p>well put halcyon1. i feel a similar way.</p>
<p>i agree. my resume may look pathetic against others in number of activities, but when you get down to it, I’m only doing what i love and am putting a lot of effort/time into those few things. i’m just praying colleges apreciate that</p>
<p>Wait till you guys actually go out and get a real job. College admissions and college in general are cake.</p>
<p>That IS my day. At school 7-2:30 for class, 2:30-4:30 for copious amounts of after school activities and sometimes I’m there until 5 or 6.</p>
<p>Dr. Horse - my son and most of his frends put in longer days in high school between class, activities and homework than most professionals I know, and I don’t think the stress is any less.</p>
<p>It doesn’t show up anywhere but I read 18 books every summer. That’s maybe 3-4 hours a day. Does that warrant being on the common app activities? Well Swim and take summer classes even more. I take 6 clubs so I don’t have to go home. My parents don’t let me do much, ie… “going off watching movies!” or “tutoring a friend? You should be studying for your SAT II in math!” (which I scored 800 on two practice tests and the real one w/ no studying)</p>
<p>“is it really worth doing all that stuff? i wonder if that girl ever gets to think about life or the purpose of life in general instead living everyday doing the same things like a robot.”
~post 27</p>
<p>I could be biased in saying this as I love philosophy, but people don’t think about this much. Each person has a philosophy. They might think their life is about earning money, or fun. They don’t get past this, pretty much just read their first philosophy book and follow that advice dot on.</p>
<p>Also what’s the point of going to high school if you do your homework in class, don’t learn, and don’t develop critical thinking abilities as mentioned earlier in the thread? I don’t get the best grades, but I can tutor students in any subject I’ve studied.</p>
<p>exactly…im really wondering whether you get more sleep in high school or college</p>
<p>I don’t get alot of sleep in high school, but mostly because I don’t need it and I get distracted. I think based on the sheer work and environment of college, even people getting very little sleep now will still get less in college.</p>
<p>Work smart, not hard. If you’re spending way more time that you think you should, then something is wrong. I had 5-6 hrs of free time everyday to do the things I wanted to (learn piano, play tennis, etc) and still got into some top 20 universities. And I’m just an average student.</p>
<p>Honestly, guys, I think you need to stop complaining. You chose to take the advanced classes. You chose to do the EC’s. Deal with the consequences of your decisions-- both good and bad.</p>
<p>I also don’t buy all of this “my teachers assign soooo much homework and I just caaaaan’t do it all faaaaaast!!” thing. I manage my time effectively and do my homework for the most advanced courses in my school in an hour or so. Just sit down and do your homework. No CC, no facebook, no internet at all, no eating, no games. Just homework.</p>
<p>You should just be yourself. If colleges don’t want you for that, screw them. That college is not for you.</p>
<p>That kind of creeps me out, to tell the truth. My school doesn’t have any clubs, but I play basketball and soccer (only basketball this year, though) and that plus 5+ hours of homework takes up plenty of my life. I’ve actually had fun in high school, and now I’m thinking I should have invented 3958723895 clubs at my school just for the heck of it. This whole college app process has gotten so ridiculous. I’ve spent more time on it this year than homework, almost. My school has no standardized testing so I had to study ridiculously to catch up for subject tests. I’ve spent pretty much the last year focusing on all this college app crap, and I’m sure that most people on this site have spent much, much longer. I think in years to come it will all be known as the “college app bubble” or something. It can’t keep escalating like this.</p>
<p>The process itself isn’t to blame; if anything, it has become increasingly easy over the years. However, the importance assigned to attending a reputable university has gone up significantly. Personally, I never experienced the stress which is supposed to be endemic; I participate in clubs for about 2 hours per week, I rarely spend more than 1 hour on homework each night, and I haven’t studied more than 24 hours total for all the standardized tests I’ve taken in high school (and that includes 9 APs, 1 SAT I, and 4 SAT IIs). I also found college applications themselves to be very straightforward, albeit tedious; I probably spent 5 hours per essay and applied to 4 schools (which I would think is quite a lot, but it pales in comparison to what some of the people here have done) and was accepted EA to a top 20 school. Naturally, I would have no chance at schools such as Harvard; fortunately for me, though, I cared mostly about going to a school which suited me.</p>
<p>However, I know people at my school who manage to cram a jaw-dropping plethora of activities into their schedule. They opt for rigorous courses when perhaps easier ones would suit them better and then complain about the amount of homework they must do. Rather than focusing on that homework, though, and attempting to internalize the subject matter and learn it well, they decide to engage in an assortment of ECs that take up much of their time. Some might even volunteer or get a part-time job, not due to a genuine desire to aid their community or to demonstrate financial responsibility, but to put it on their resume. And, given that they have done all this, it is only natural for them to assiduously pore over every last detail of their college applications.</p>
<p>Now, people who are that determined may very readily achieve their goals; nonetheless, any stress incurred is solely their fault.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore in HS and already feel burnt out. I may not be speaking for the majority or high school students, however most pressure that I recieve I essentially put on myself. My parents were not scholars - mom was 9th in class of 400, yet could not afford 4 yr university, went to community college. Dad went to a semi-esteemed local school, I am not so sure of his fate as he doesnt talk about it. They make up for it with perserverance. However, it is important to me to suceed, as I think to a certain point that the competition burns students out. At the end of the day, it shouldn’t be this way. Yes, competition sepperates “the men from the boys”, and very well may prepare us for future experiences, but in reality, we are all just kids.</p>
<p>I completely agree with the poster above me. I’m a sophomore, and I put tons of pressure on myself to get into the University of Michigan. However, I am out of state and my GPA is only 3.57. It makes me depressed and I am burnt out from school.</p>
<p>I never felt any pressure until I was Junior and especially this year. I am thinking about committing a suicide after going through the application process(lol), having to devote weeks to study for SAT IIs and write my essays. My parents don’t know anything, but top ten university and my sisters never gone through this, so they are pressuring me even more. I am doing everything on my own except I have to use their credit card lol. I sought my sisters’ assistance, but they never helped. One day they asked me if I had signed up for the ACT and the next day they said “Why are you wasting money taking the ACT again.” So basically I am keeping everything about college to myself, and I will be deemed useless if I don’t get accepted to Ivy league schools, or top tens.</p>