The college resume: it is the single most important achievement of every high school student's career, or so it seems. It marks a pivotal point in our lives, gets us into a university which then can get us a stable future, or so it seems. It's branded into every student's mind, is the one lingering idea that remains after all other thought is gone.

But the hyper-focus on the college resume turns the college admissions process into a system condoning fraud and over-exaggerations. Colleges cannot get a good sense of ourselves as people if all we are presenting to them is an over-pruned, over-polished caricature of ourselves. But, more than that, we have to maintain a sense of identity, of individuality, in order to not lose our sanity, in order to not lose ourselves to a system that insists on defining who we are.

There’s overarching pressure from every single angle -- familial pressure from parents and relatives who want to see the most success in our own lives, peer pressure from competitive friends, societal pressure from a world that emphasizes and re-emphasizes the need to get into a good college. I’m not saying that this pressure is always malignant-- often, we need it as an inspiration to even try to learn, to work hard amidst endless distractions. After all, who would want to do schoolwork otherwise when there are a million other things to be doing? Who would choose to study over going to the mall?

But too much of this pressure turns the high school experience into an insidious spiral, drawing students into the same end point so that getting into a good college is all that matters. Kids, once bursting with imagination and their own dreams in their younger years, now devote everything they do in lives to the college resume. They are willing to sacrifice their morality and health in order to win. It’s survival of the fittest.

Perhaps it would be okay if we could concentrate on a few aspects of ourselves to flaunt to colleges. Perhaps we could be more honest about the portions of our lives that are more underdeveloped. But, no, this is a process in which we must epitomize well-roundedness. We must have strength across the board in all core subject materials, from English to math to science to social studies. We must be active participants in extracurricular activities. We must obtain stellar marks on standardized tests, and we must dedicate our lives to community service as well. Often we have to get a job or internship. Oh, and in all of these obligations, we must be leaders.

As this archetypal perfect high school student is placed on a pedestal (albeit how unrealistic he or she may be), constant pressure forces down the idea to the students that this is who they must become. Especially in rigorous curricula, kids who should be getting eight hours of sleep every night see their sleeptime trickle down to five, four, three hours nightly as they work to complete all their assignments and study for all their examinations. They skip meals and instead snack on candy and chips. Instead of drinking water, they down countless cups of coffee for the caffeine buzz. Often they neglect physical activity to sit in front of a desk with their textbooks propped up before them and papers scattered around.

In such an environment, it’s unsurprising the process not only sacrifices physical well-being, but there is also a mental and emotional toll. Students are only human, and their lives are jam-packed with responsibilities, stress, and the emotional acuteness of normal adolescent lives. It’s no wonder that sometimes they cannot finish some project or study for some test. In a last-ditch effort to stave off that failing grade, students resort to skipping school or cheating in all its way, shapes, or forms. And as multitudes of students skimp on schoolwork without getting caught, this explodes out of control, with more and more cheating eating away more and more morality. Students broker alliances with their friends to help each other cheat in ways that don’t catch their teachers’ eyes-- often not as a show of friendship, but for self-gain.

On top of that, students dedicate so much time in beefing up their resumes for colleges that they lose their sense of being human, with all its imperfections and individuality. Specific goals fade away all for the pre-proposed goal of getting into a good college. Students enroll in classes that they don’t want to take because the course is rigorous and they look good. They join clubs they don’t want to join because they look good. They apply for honor societies and opportunities they couldn’t care less about because they look good. They choose head over heart, and in making time for things they don’t want to be so invested in, time for their true passions disintegrates. The girl who wanted to be a writer no longer has time to compose poetry or journal in her daily diary. The music enthusiast no longer has time to play with beats and write music.

Yes, colleges do stress that they want to see individuality in someone to accept him or her. But they also stress that good grades are of paramount importance, more so than anything else. There’s little scope to maximize individuality without the time to pursue it, time wasted on other responsibilities. And even if individual passions can somehow be incorporated into our responsibilities, are we still often doing so for colleges and skewing the way we want it or are we truly doing something for ourselves?

The most important point that people forget: you are so, so much more than your college acceptance letter. You are pieced together by your unique experiences and emotions and loyalties, not all of which a college resume can capture. You are loved, loved by others, and should not depend on a cold, corrupt system for love and worth. Education is very important, but is the person receiving it.