The American College Admissions Rollercoaster

Coping with and surviving the anxiety that accompanies this gruelling process

California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo — Photo by author

When my older daughter was a senior in high school, getting into college was very competitive. With a 4.2 GPA, she was not accepted into any California colleges. The competition is so steep where we live. That was 3 years ago, and the numbers this year were even more staggering.

With the rise of social media announcements, getting into a good school is trendy and something that can garner a lot of likes. Going to a community college is sometimes seen as inferior, even though it is a cost-effective choice. Many community colleges, at least near where I live, will grant students two years of school for free.

The competition and keeping up with the Joneses is fierce, especially in a place like Southern California. People flock from all over the world to attend prestigious universities here, such as Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, which makes it hard for residents to secure a spot.

My youngest daughter is graduating from high school in about 6 weeks, and we are almost fully done with the college admissions process.

Almost 9 million students applied to American universities for the 2025–2026 year. That is up about 500k from the previous year…