What If -- kids did whatever they felt like in High School?

<p>i got into some tippy top programs that i had applied to, but i don’t feel smarter nor more prepared by those hard classes/ ECs. in fact, i feel more lost then ever especially since my parents are trying to tuck me away into a childlike state because they can’t deal w/ me become an adult. i think people ought to do whatever ECs they want and take whatever AP classes they want. this stuff don’t necessarily make or break admissions, they just HELP. do well, be healthy,don’t cry a lot. and you will be fine.</p>

<p>Ive always believed/seen first hand that fellow students are on the soccer team or 10 years and absolutely dread it but stick with it because “it will look good for college”. I dont agree with that thinking at all. when i stopped thinking like that, stopped slaving over my work, stopped playing softball (i was awful!), i found myself so much happier. yeah my grades went down, yeah im not going to princeton, but im so happy. honestly, ive had so many wonderful life experiences when i actually should have been studying and it was 100% worth it. this is going to sound awful but i missed an ap us history test because i went to music festival and barely ended up passing the class. but i wouldnt change it for the worldddd! call it irresponsible and immature but i learned a lot and experienced even more. </p>

<p>you should do what you feel, everything happens for a reason. you just have to go with the flow! i know others are not as laid back and prefer studying rather than going out with friends, and thats their choice, as long as it feels right. i admit though, some of my experiences werent worth blowing off homework, and at time it felt like not doing my homework was more stressful than actually doing it, and it didnt feel right at all. you just got learn from your mistakes! as for the college process, for me pulling myself away from education and my desk and going out, meeting people, trying all these new things helped me figure out where i wanted to go, the type of people i wanted to be around, and in a way find a little of who i am and who i aspire to be. and im actually happy!</p>

<p>Though is the stress and push to do things to prepare for college rather than doing things that you want to do necessarily a bad thing?</p>

<p>This strive to take more difficult classes - perhaps it introduces you to ideas and forces you to work well/better in areas you wouldn’t likely explore without the extrinsic incentive.</p>

<p>The multitude and leadership/development of EC’ s - perhaps that forces upon you the need to try activities that you really wouldn’t try otherwise. All of these clubs and volunteering/internships, summer programs and the like. Most people would admit that they’re fun and not an agonizing experience done for the credit. And all this preassure to develop “leadership skills” actually cause students to develop… leadership skills which in it of itself may just be a good thing.</p>

<p>A lot of these criteria that have developed into necessities for college admission were originally looked upon as good things for students to have that shows that they were active and grew during their high school careers. Matured so to speak so they could handle college. Now they’re the norms but at one point I would assume these items were chosen as indicators of a good student/college candidate for a reason.</p>

<p>I do agree that a lot of this may have developed too far to the point where time can be better spent elsewhere not just wasting time lazying around or partying all the time (which is necessary as well), but actually developing yourself in ways that can’t really be shown so well on paper and that colleges may not care enough to see. But it can’t be ignored that the factors colleges look for that are already in place do instill some benefits.</p>