What needs to change in Higher Ed?

Higher Education needs to stop stressing its students out. Think about when the college process starts, visits to campus and beginning to think about college applications during junior year of HIGH SCHOOL. Not only do students have to think about how their grades will affect their chances of getting into a school of their choice, they have to participate in extracurricular activities in order to stand out from the crowd as well as take numerous tests: the SAT, the ACT, SAT subject tests, AP exams, etc. In 2018 there was a 4% increase in the number of students who applied to college from the previous year. However, only 65.4% of these applicants were accepted (National Association for College Admission Counseling).

It doesn’t end there, once students get into their school and arrive on their campuses, the next stresses begin. The American Institute of Stress (AIS) reports that 8 in 10 college students experience frequent stress (https://www.stress.org/stress-an-epidemic-among-college-students). Where does this stress come from?

1. Being away from home

2. Lack of sleep

3. Having to make new friends

4. Classes and homework

5. Finances (working jobs and being in debt)

So what needs to change? A multitude of things. There will not be a significant impact if universities and colleges are only adjusting one component of higher education at a time. Students need access to counseling and healthy coping mechanisms. The cost of higher ed needs to be reduced or eliminated to make it more accessible and less stressful. The application process while rigorous should not be stressful to the point of making people question going to university.