As college acceptances finish coming out, it becomes highly apparent that the standards and expectations college admissions  expect from the students are absurd. The UC schools alone average acceptance rate was only 28.81%. Most of this year’s seniors “safe schools,” turned out to be not so safe after all.

As a junior, this year I’ve had a lot of classes with seniors and many people that teachers and their fellow peers thought should get into some of their top choices, didn’t get into any. 

I’ve heard some disheartening phrases thrown around as the decisions came out. Specifically, “I’m lucky I even got into college” or “At least I’m going to college!”

It is unbelievable that even some of the highest ranked students at this school struggled to get accepted anywhere. They’ve put so much effort in and out of school to get where they are now and yet, it seems to be all for nothing.

Not to mention, it seems that the seniors are paying the price for the mistakes colleges made last year. A rumor has gone around that the reason why so few people were accepted into UC Irvine is because last year the admissions office incorrectly estimated how many of their acceptances would be committing. 

Due to this unforeseen circumstance, people have been speculating that one UC school, UC Irvine, had to decline many they would have otherwise accepted. This however, still does not explain the rest of the college’s choices.

The 2024 seniors at this school are some of the most driven people I have ever met. If the rest of their year is the same, then it makes a little more sense as to why the acceptances were so scarce. 

Even when people have been accepted, some still don’t have the ability to attend. Financial aid seems to be a deal-breaker for many. From housing, textbooks and tuition, it can get very expensive. 

Some may not have the ability to pay for it by themselves and rely on financial aid. If they can not get enough, that may unfortunately deter them from what could have been their dream school. 

While I may not be able to change anything, I still believe the colleges are making dumb choices by letting some of the brightest students go.