“’Just Enough’ for me means doing the bare minimum and not going for big achievements in school,” Kaitlyn Moran (11) says.
As the pressure to get into top colleges increases year after year, more students are buckling under the pressure their family, friends and teachers apply.
“In high school, I have done way more than my older sisters ever did,” Callie Mosely (12) says. “But it was always a question if I would get into colleges that they had no doubt they would have gotten into.”
This phenomenon is not just observed through the student, however. According to the National Health Institute, between the years of 1992 to 2004, applicants for 4 year colleges grew from 1.19 million to 1.71 million students – a 44% increase. A larger application pool makes all colleges statistically more difficult to be accepted into.
“FSU {Florida State University} used to be a school that you had to have good grades to get into, but it wasn’t impossible,” Finley Weidner (11) says. “Now their average SAT and GPA are as high as top schools in the nation, and it feels so impossible without being the perfect student.”
Weidner raised an interesting topic of conversation. Now that most popular schools, particularly SEC schools, are requiring a new caliber of student that does not reward those who do well enough, why would students try if they are not going to be the best?
Of the 12 students interviewed, 10 intended on attending a SEC schools, such as UF.
SEC vs Non SEC Schools by caporcelli
“I honestly have no idea what college I want to go to,” Tristan Sears (11) says. “When I was in middle school, I wanted to go to UF {University of Florida} or FSU, but I’m not good enough of a student for that. So ya, why would I put all of my energy into an assignment I know won’t matter because I won’t get into those schools.”
This mentality is an increasingly common one among high schoolers. When the top Florida public universities make it incredibly difficult to enter their program, students will not want to aim that high if they think it is unrealistic.
This concept coincides with the burn out many students are now facing.
“School just feels life it’s all or nothing and I’m too tired to do it all right now,” Moran says.
When given these standards, the trend of just doing enough to pass by will continue in the student population and will not change if something is not done to directly attempt to change it.
While this is a common trend, it is also significant to recognize that this idea is for students who typically do incredibly well in school. Of those interviewed, most of their top schools were either UF or FSU, two of the top public universities in the state.
Considering the significant financial aid given to in-state, high-achieving students, this is a reasonable notion. However, those schools are intended for the best both in and out of the state. There are many other options within, and out of, the state for students who do not necessarily meet the high benchmark those schools set for their attendees.
“I really want to go to Alabama,” Madison Gelwix (11) says.
Yes, Gelwix raises a valid point; however, burnout and the concept of doing ‘Just Enough’ to get by in school is still an increasing concern among students.
Even those who do not wise to attend top universities, by their senior year, reach a breaking point almost. This phenomenon is so common; it garnered its own nickname – senioritis.
Ultimately, it is important to keep these trends in mind while assessing student mental health, college admissions and curriculum structure.