The Spire

Yana Giannoutsos ‘28

Staff Writer

This is the first piece of advice I received this time last year prior to embarking on the college application process. Like my classmates–and anyone who has matriculated at an institution of higher education–my time was occupied b a mix of club meetings, volunteering, and frantically driving to hours-away test sites to produce a number I felt was satisfactory for a prestigious college. Reflecting on the process has prompted me to consider not only the flaws of the system, but also the absurdity of the meaning society attaches to it and the subsequent pressure placed on students to live a perfect life in high school with a clear post-grad trajectory–an expectation both restrictive and harmful.

Matriculating into an institution with a clear focus on the liberal arts forces students to confront essential questions, from pondering which career paths to consider to considering what subject matter brings them joy. Throughout the first two years at most institutions of higher education, students are given freedom to branch out and explore a range of interests that equip them with the information needed to begin to shape their major with a life goal in mind. The expansion, exploration, and evolution possible at college do not correlate to the stress placed on high school students to have everything figured out.

Social media college influencers and school counselors have been increasingly advocating for a “Spike”: a distinct element around which one’s entire application revolves, typically centered around a specific extracurricular activity or subject. Though there is no inherent issue with a student capitalizing on unique accomplishments to showcase a particularly developed aspect of their identity, the pressure to choose a niche path can be debilitating, especially when “well-roundedness” is no longer viewed as desirable. 

When colleges claim that schools want a diverse student body, this does not mean that not every student needs to be well rounded. Rather, if every student has a niche interest that they excel at, when inspecting the class as a whole, the range of students and interests will appear broad and balanced. This unnecessarily deters students from exploration through high school and undermines the importance of trying new things well into adulthood. Students think they must stick to the sports and clubs they’ve been involved with since secondary school for fear that the risk of trying something new will prove unfruitful in presenting themselves as desirable and talented for prospective colleges.

High school does not have to be the time to attain mastery at a specific skill or subject. In fact, even higher education can and should serve as a time to support young adults’ transition into the workforce by equipping them with a broad range of skills and a database of knowledge that transcends subject barriers. As a society, we should fight to defend well-roundedness. Students who want to try it all and expand themselves should feel free to do so without the fear of missing out on a “Spike” in their application. Similarly, adults in college and post-grad should continue to pursue hobbies, routinely trying things they never have as a way to stay creative, challenge the mind to work through discomfort, and actively fight against the prevailing idea that mastery trumps all. 

If college admissions is, in fact, a “game,” then I was a player abiding by the rules, trying in vain to find my “thing.” The issue was that when I arrived at college, I found my interests began to shift and take a new direction I would have never considered last year. The quest to find your “thing” prematurely is not helpful for college admissions if it comes at the expense of personal fulfillment and robs young adults of chances for expansion. 

Featured image courtesy of Getty Images

Copy Edited by Annamaria DeCamp ’27