The Toxic Signal That Colleges Send to Parents and Students

Colleges send a toxic message to parents and students by forcing them to excel in multiple areas and expecting a Renaissance man level of excellence. While moving away from testing may make schools more accessible, it creates a new system that students who were successful in the old system have to figure out. This pressure to expand further what they bring forward can be psychologically discombobulating for students. The message that doing all these things will help with college admissions is a bait and switch when they ultimately find out that the process is random and not based on merit. This can be a disheartening moment for young people who have oriented their lives around getting into college.