It’s 1 a.m. and the pile of homework is never-ending as tired eyes stare at the personal statement essay on the bright screen. 

High school is the stepping stone for college but through it all, the pressure and expectations seem to crack teenagers into two. Countless students stress about their future the moment they walk through the doors as freshmen. 

With the amount of homework given by teachers and the constant itch about “what do colleges want?” in the back of a student’s mind, sleep flies out of the window. A survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that 56 percent of adolescents stay awake late at night because of the stress.

Lack of sleep creates a terrible mindset for an adolescent and when surveyed, many said they felt hopeless toward the future. This isn’t as big a shock considering the never-ending list of must do’s for a prestige college.

In addition to recommended requirements, colleges will ask for advanced/rigorous courses, community service, involvement in sports and extracurricular activities. On top of that, make sure to ace all classes! This is why some students end up sleeping in class or at times, having mental breakdowns during school hours. 

National Public Radio also conducted a survey in which they found that 45 percent of the students said that school pressure was why they were so stressed out. In this story, a girl admitted that she cried her eyes out after seeing that her GPA was not at a 4.0. This could not be more accurate. Sometimes even thinking about how my future may go wrong brings tears to my eyes while taking exams.

The little things that build up a resume can destroy a teenager’s mind and leave them feeling like the reason they are not “perfect” is because of a problem within themselves.

Older generations argue that stress is a good way to learn how to successfully multitask and that if they could make it to college, so can the new generation. Although pressure does make diamonds, the stress level for high school students seem to have broken the scale.

After attending a graduating class reunion for John Hopkins University, an Atlantic journalist was reminded by a representative of the university that admissions requirements have drastically changed. 

“Chances are most of us here would not even be admitted to this college today,” the representative said.

The requirements have been multiplied and competitiveness has been ramped up over the past few years. Yes, students can make their way to college but the road is an uphill climb.

Some time management can help reduce stress. Staying organized can help make sure that second cup of coffee does not need to be made. If time management does not reduce stress, speaking to the teachers and making them aware of the many things on your plate could also possibly benefit all the things on your to-do list.