In the spring of 2023, 8,956 seniors in CFISD walked across the stage at graduation with a diploma in hand. Of this number, 511 seniors graduated with associate degrees from Lone Star College Cy-Fair and nine planned on attending Ivy League schools. These numbers surpass the class of 2022, which celebrated 8,868 graduating seniors, 199 of which earned associate degrees and five planned on attending an Ivy League university. However, how do the specific journeys of each student vary? What factors truly impacted and determined their successes and experiences?

Consider Bridgeland and Cypress Woods. This past year, when the U.S. News & World Report ranked public high schools in the nation, Bridgeland placed 1,206 (first in CFISD) and Cy-Woods 1,256 (second in CFISD). Both of those numbers are incredibly impressive considering that there are thousands upon thousands of public high schools across the nation, but what determines the difference in their rankings? How does attending a certain school make a difference in how a student appears to colleges? Students, regardless of what school they may hail from or what their academics may look like, spend roughly a decade in their respective district. In CFISD, should the number of graduating seniors continue to increase, more and more students will enter the next steps after high school. More students, more education, more opportunities, more competitiveness. As students may spend almost half of their time in CFISD preparing for college and college applications, there is a focus like no other on ensuring one’s success in the future. But what truly makes an “excellent” applicant?

Building Repertoire

From the age of 13 or so, students begin planning their high school schedules and amassing credits in order to buff up their academic repertoire. Building this repertoire is necessary as academics are a leading pillar in determining a student’s possible deterrence or acceptance into a university. As The Princeton Review states: “[C]hallenging classes demonstrate to admissions committees that you have the interest and the ability to take on higher-level work. This aspect of your transcript is often referred to as academic rigor, something many students don’t realize is important in college admissions.” Participating in both high-level courses and attaining good grades in those courses are vital in differentiating two applicants.

Grade point average (GPA) is another way that colleges accomplish this. It’s like a game: take challenging courses, get good grades, join good organizations and programs, amass leadership positions, volunteer and more to amass more points. Essentially, the thought is that the more points you get, the more successful you are. But is that really the case? While a student’s GPA can greatly influence a student’s acceptance into a certain school, how much weight does it really carry? As the U.S. News & World additionally reports: “[A]mong the nearly 1,400 ranked colleges that reported this data to U.S. News in an annual survey, only about 37% considered class rank “very important” or “important” in their admissions process.” While it is undeniably impressive to take many Advanced Placement (AP) courses and participate in other additional rigorous courses, is it truly absolutely necessary for a student? Well, that depends on the student themself and what one is willing to commit to. However, is something the “best” route because it’s the most difficult? One may argue that the AP tests themselves place more of an emphasis on understanding the certain “style” of the exams themselves instead of the content of the course. While the content is still taught in detail, students spend the year gearing up for a single exam and mastering the exam’s grading techniques to ensure one earns a good score. This adds complexity for students to interact with, but is it becoming the standard? For the class of 2022, according to CollegeBoard, 34.6% percent of the graduating class nationwide took an AP course in high school and 21.6% earned a three or higher on at least one AP exam. But how much weight does AP exam scores carry in the college-application process? For incredibly elite schools, the classes are less of a boost and become almost mandatory. So, if you want to take an AP class, by all means, go for it. The only question it brings in is balance. Balance is a fragile thing to accomplish in high school, as taking so many classes and participating in so many organizations can lead one to burnout. As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states: “In 2021, more than 4 in 10 (42%) students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health.” How can one be expected to carve a path for their future when their present state is deteriorating?

Shifting the Focus

Mental health is one of the most discussed topics online with the hashtag “mental health” being searched on TikTok roughly 67 billion times. The state of a student’s mental health can detrimentally impact one’s experience in high school, and thus their college applications and college experience. With AP scores, students are given the option to submit the score or not. Similarly, many universities today such as Texas A&M, Cornell and UTSA are shifting to test optional, meaning students are not required to submit their SAT or ACT scores alongside the rest of their application. This shift has moved many schools into a more holistic acceptance system, which is a focus on a student’s overall personality and places a little less of an emphasis on just academics. Website Quinnipiac Today breaks down what colleges look at in six sections: academics, extracurricular activities, essays and writing samples, letters of recommendation, interest in the institution and interest into the desired area of study. This changing focus from mostly academics to the whole of a student gives more chances to students who are heavily involved in extracurriculars–which in CFISD hurt a student’s GPA as most extracurriculars and sports count as an “L level” courses–more of a chance getting into a certain college, even if they aren’t in the top 10% or 6%. Ultimately, maintaining a healthy mindset in high school while doing all you want to can be just as influential as academics in the college application process.