Ever since I can remember, the pressure of grades has always been a crushing weight. Nonetheless, I have found that there aren’t many ways out of the maze that is academic validation. Seemingly these issues of academic pressure stem from things like college acceptance, standardized testing, and unrealistic expectations.

Avery Stuhlbarg ‘25 shares, “I do experience a lot of academic pressure,” she continues, “I’d say most of the academic pressure I experience comes from the looming fear of having to get into a college in the near future.” The sheer anxiety Stuhlbarg has surrounding college acceptance is shown clearly even though she is just a junior not yet applying to colleges. 

Although sometimes it is not the student themselves who is the perpetrator of all their academic pressure, sometimes that pressure comes from parents and teachers. The important adults in a student’s life can influence the unstable balance between school and home life. Students can also be influenced by people on the internet. With the current rise of social media, many students can find themselves comparing their achievements to those of their peers. 

Every student knows of the trials and tribulations that encompass standardized testing, but recently the tests have been shrouded in a veil of controversy. The New York Times says, “In the last decade or so, more than 1,230 colleges and universities have made the SAT and ACT optional for admission, according to FairTest, a group that has pushed to end testing requirements.” With the fall of standardized testing upon us, I was curious to see if students were still feeling the pressure of the impending standardized tests. 

Stuhlbarg is a student who definitely has a distaste for standardized tests, she says, “I think we should get rid of standardized testing.”

Natalie Gettelman ‘25, disagrees with Stuhlbarg, “I don’t think we should get rid of standardized testing, however, I think we should lengthen the time we give to students because I think it is a valuable resource to standardize the knowledge of people.” 

Jane Tweeten ‘26 shares her opinion, “I think it serves a purpose for college applications but if there was an alternative way to apply to colleges I think that would be better.” 

Everyone seems to have a unique opinion on the topic of standardized testing. This is because every student has different strengths and weaknesses and no test should or can ever be one size fits all. Your academic journey is personal and you need not conform to the hellish ways of the college admissions process. 

The simple truth is that in retrospect: grades don’t define you, or how successful you will eventually be in your life. Forbes says, “For example, grades don’t measure leadership or comfort with risk, two traits that are essential to the highest echelon of business success. Additionally, a grade point average (GPA) isn’t an indicator of emotional intelligence or interpersonal skills like networking. It’d be hard to go far in a career without these critical skills.”

In this modern world, many lack the interpersonal skills and self-awareness to achieve meaningful success. Success can often come in the form of connections made with others, or access to resources available only to specific individuals. 

In my time in high school, I’ve met so many people who put all their worth into their school work, but the truth is that your worth is not determined by your GPA or what you got on a math test, it is determined by your strength of character. Your unique qualities are the things that will make you stand out in a crowd