“Do it all—and do it without fault.”
For many students, the pressure to excel in academics has turned into a relentless juggling act. With eight classes—many of them AP—there is little time to develop emotionally, explore personal interests, or simply be a person. Instead, students are trapped in a black hole, stretching themselves thin to meet the expectations imposed on them.
These standards led to a sense of insecurity, as the persistent need for perfection often leads to stress, exhaustion, and burnout, yet many students continue to propel themselves despite this.
“This mentality made it difficult to accept failure as an option,” senior Nicko Dickens said. “The pressure to excel at everything was due to the pressure that was put on me as a child, and if I didn’t get good grades I would get yelled at.”
Students often find themselves caught in a race to be in the top 10% of their class. According to CollegeVine, colleges seek students who stand out and demonstrate genuine commitment, favoring those with substantial, long-term involvement in a few activities rather than those who participate in many solely to enhance their resumes.
Beyond academics, students have responsibilities outside of school that add to their stress. Freshman Albion Muja acknowledges that he has a “good life,” but the responsibilities he carries make balancing schoolwork arduous.
“The schools give us all of this work, without knowing the problems behind the scenes of people’s lives,” Muja said. “Some people have jobs after school, some people got a girlfriend or boyfriend, some are with a single parent, some got no parents, some live in apartments, some in hotels, with broken homes, and they all have their problems. When you add the extra assignments, studying, and pressure of going to a good school, it can really drive a person to their end.”
When a student’s schedule is packed with almost every AP class the school offers, there is little room for students to devote time to anything but academics.
“Not only are you missing out on having enjoyment in your life, but you’re also adding unnecessary stress to your plate,” AP Human Geography teacher Elise Bruns said. “A lot of these kids who are in all of these dual credits, AP, ‘I’m going to be a doctor’ classes, are completely behind when it comes to interacting with anybody outside of their bubble.”
Students are sacrificing their well-being for their grades.
“The constant pressure to excel in multiple activities can leave them feeling overwhelmed, as they struggle to juggle competing priorities,” psychologist Michelle Hintz said. “This relentless pace can lead to a belief that their self-worth is intrinsically tied to their achievements.”
However, some students believe that stress stems more from procrastination than workload.
“I take 6 AP classes, and I rarely feel like I have too much work or that I am ‘suffocating’ with the amount of work,” junior Aaditeya Das said. “I would say that I am not burnt out solely due to the fact that I don’t procrastinate any of my work. The second I get an assignment, I do my best to finish as much as I can or chart out a smart way to finish it even if I am not currently wanting to do that work.”
