Kaye, 1

What time do you go to bed? At midnight? One in the morning? How about at two a.m.? If
you can easily say that you have been asleep long before those times, then, congratulations, I am
jealous of you. Rare is the night when I sleep more than three hours in a paradise called my bed and
it is
not from insomnia. With three college-level classes and two honors classes and with cross
country or long-distance track, depending on the season, and with volunteer service and with video
production, there is simply no time in the day for the rich REM-level sleep that keeps a person
healthy and happy. As a currently enrolled high school junior, I can honestly say that I have an
unadulterated loathing for this system of habit and circular thinking that perpetuates a cycle of
sleep deprivation. Nonetheless, I am not above placing blame on myself where blame is due so I will
concede that it is my fault that I decided upon my current class course from hell and even refused
the chance to change it halfway through the school year, but I believe there are more factors to this
problem than just my innate stubbornness. I may be an extreme example, but I am not alone. For
every student like me out there, we ask the same question: Why does getting accepted into college
now involve exhibiting an almost superhuman display of strength and perseverance?
The outward pressure on the student is not if the student will be accepted into college, but
that they will not be accepted into a nationally-acclaimed one, as if that is a marker of self-worth
and intelligence. This fear has been ground into the back of our minds since middle school, but for
some, the pressure began at an earlier time. With this knowledge hovering above our heads like a
thunderous cloud, it becomes far too easy to forget that there are so many more ways to measure
ones worth or potential worth to society. It is unfortunate that if one were to ask any high school
student in Riverside about going to the local community college, one shall be met with resignation,
disgust, or indifference due to the widely understood knowledge that
everyone is accepted into RCC.

Kaye, 2
There is no difficulty factor, no image of well-known successful people graduating from small
institutions, and no possibility of moving away from home. There is a perception that only the most
intelligent, most driven, or most talented are accepted into the top-tier universities and that all of
the have-nots go to smaller institutions.
The universities have a hand in this reality. As the number of students applying to colleges
have increased, the top universities in the country are refusing to raise the amount of students they
are accepting.

The atmosphere has become that of a competition. Many students see this

competitive spirit and decide early on that they do not have what it takes. Other students step up,
or attempt to, and these are the students that take on numerous AP and honors classes, that
participate in sports or charity work or clubs or all of the above to look good, that as a New York
University study describes, work as hard as adults, or even harder, with little time left for
relaxation or creativity.
So what does this do to the bright, young minds of the future? Well, with constant sleep
deprivation, at worst, permanent brain damage can ensue and mental breakdowns due to the
constant pressure for perfection will occur. Other long-term effects may include, according to
Claudia Aguirre, a neuroscientist, hormonal imbalance, illness, and, in extreme cases, death. How
is my generation going to cure cancer if we are ruining the brightest, young minds now in the race for
a college acceptance letter? And need I mention how the lack of sleep in adolescence will result in
developing signs of premature aging? What must change?
There is a new hope on the horizon for change in the college admissions process, but those
changes will come far too late for the current crop of high school students. A new study presented
by the Harvard Graduate School of Education called Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others

Kaye, 3
and the Common Good through College Admissions insists that colleges begin to make internal
admissions changes that will emphasize less on personal success at the expense of others and our
common goals and encourage being a good overall human being that gives back to the community.
Although these recommendations will not affect the process and system that now stands, they will
make all the difference for students that come later. Successful change will have arrived when high
school students are not forced to pull an all-nighter for the sake of a grade.

Kaye, 4
Resources
Aguirre, Claudia, and TED-Ed. "What Would Happen If You Didn't Sleep?" YouTube. YouTube, 12
Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2016. <
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqONk48l5vY
>.
"NYU Study Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms." NYU Study
Examines Top High School Students' Stress and Coping Mechanisms. New York University,
11 Aug. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
<
https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2015/08/11/nyu-study-examines-tophigh-school-students-stress-and-coping-mechanisms.html
>.
Vox. "Better Sleep: A 2-minute Guide." YouTube. Youtube, 01 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QlejFUpn78>.
Weissbourd, Richard. "Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern For Others And The Common Good
Through College Admissions."
Making Caring Common
. Harvard Graduate School of
Education, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <
http://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/collegeadmissions
>.