The college application process is unquestionably difficult for everyone. We all stress about receiving good standardized test scores and the best class ranking, and then pour our hearts into our essays in an attempt to make up for any disappointing shortcomings in these numbers. This situation is what makes it so difficult for low-income, first generation minority students to apply for college. It is hard to deal with the fact that some of the nation’s best colleges will not even consider us if we fail to meet the numbers they want to see, yet we still obsess over writing the perfect essays, the only item in the entire application that lets us reveal our true identity. In hopes that these essays will give us the slightest chance at good colleges, we shed tears as we write about our lives, we share deep, personal secrets that we aren’t even comfortable to telling to our teacher; we come alive in these essays.
With every word typed, there comes a feeling of immense passion, a soul invested in showing the individual behind the numbers. The most selective schools will not always care; they don’t see the diversity students can bring to their campus. Arguably, selective schools use a holistic approach, yet that is not to say test scores and grades do not account for a large part of the admissions process. Essays are usually the 4th or 5th most important part of the application, while grades and test scores usually take the 1st and 2nd place. Despite the time the typical student pours into these essays, the truth is that without outstanding test scores, it is hard to make it in the Harvards and Stanfords of the country.
Coming from a low-income community, it is difficult to score very highly on these exams. We often lack the studying resources and our family responsibilities do not always allow extensive studying time. These schools won’t care that I’ve seen my friends contemplate suicide because their 30 on their ACT seems mediocre in comparison to the middle 50 percent of applicants that have a 35. The difficult situation here is that while we’re here crying that we missed perfection, these colleges won’t look at us twice. They give us 200 words to talk about ourselves but 500 to sing our praises to them. If our numbers aren’t perfect, then neither are we in their eyes. But in my eyes, we’re better than being perfect; we’re people. Real people with hearts and souls that go through life scared that we won’t be accepted, but remain optimistic in the darkness of the process.
The truth is that the college application process is unpredictable. Sometimes, schools just do not think we are the perfect “fit” for their schools, despite a stellar resume. However, one should not view these decisions as a defining factor of one’s identity. The system is not perfect and will not always work in our favor, but these rejections do not indicate one’s lack of ability. Instead, with the right work ethic and determination, one can be successful, whether one attends Yale or Rio Hondo City College. Perfection should not be one’s objective in this progress because there are many schools that prefer the imperfections and there will be places that will appreciate our genuine characters. In their eyes, we will be perfect.
