When students dive into the world of high school as upperclassmen, conversations of SAT/ACT/college/grades seem to dominate the halls. These are the years when all of these factors suddenly matter more than before, because the time to decide what we will do after high school is just around the corner. Students should try to stay away from the topic of scores and numbers, because the competition should be between their fellow applicants instead of their friends.
Juniors are constantly talking about the PSAT, SAT tutoring, and the scores they expect to receive. They are told again and again how important junior year is for their future; the notion is practically carved into their brains. Even when they go somewhere to hang out with friends to forget the stress of school for a few hours, the topic of exams still manages to slip into conversation.
Grades and test scores are meant to evaluate students on their performance in a class or activity. Students compare their scores for the competition, but they should focus more on improving their scores rather than beating their peer’s. Yes, our world is based on competition, but we should leave the competition to being with the other applicants of our dream colleges. Let the college decide who is better than the other, and do not bring that competition into your friendships.
Colleges should be the ones using your SAT/ACT scores to judge you; your friends should be the ones there to support you when you are getting acceptance or rejection letters. If you let your academic life intertwine with your relationships, you will lose necessary bonds. You won’t have a place to be or people to be with when you just want to laugh and forget about school and its pressures.
The best solution is to avoid talking about grades and scores. If you don’t know your friends’ SAT scores, the scores will not affect your friendship in one way or another. Let hanging out with friends be time for fun and laughter instead of judgement and competition. We only have a few numbered years left with our fellow classmates, so we should create as many positive memories as we can.
An SAT score is just a number of correctly bubbled-in circles. It is important and should be taken seriously, but it should not be used as a form of judgement between classmates. A person with a high SAT score is not necessarily kinder or smarter than a person with a lower one. Letting mere numbers influence your opinions of your fellow classmates is just wrong. The scores are supposed to be used to compete with applicants to the same schools not among friends or acquaintances.
So, when you log onto your College Board account to see your latest scores, think twice before you bring your them into your friendships.
Categories: Opinion