As the back-to-school season kicks off, it feels like my TikTok algorithm knows I’m heading into my most stressful year yet—junior year. With the SAT, ACT, AP exams, letters of recommendation, and extracurriculars constantly on the minds of nearly every 11th grader, my For You Page is equally flooded with self-proclaimed high school tutors telling me that everything I’ve done so far isn’t nearly enough.
Don’t believe me? Just check out #collegeadmissions on TikTok—it has 49.9k posts and counting. And that’s not even considering the countless other hashtags used by these so-called “college app” experts.
Doing research for this article, I stumbled upon one of the top videos under the previously mentioned hashtag. In it, popular content creator @limmytalks described what he called an “average” college application. He started with seemingly reasonable stats like a 1200 SAT score (but still above the national average). But within seconds, he quickly transitioned into a huge list of achievements that truly felt anything but average: four years in marching band, two years as a varsity cheerleader, twelve years as a Girl Scout, and even founding a successful nonprofit.
Although this video initially made me feel anxious, I couldn’t help but empathize with the nearly 700 comments under it—high school students just like me, all expressing the same fears and frustrations.
The comment section made me realize I wasn’t alone in feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to be perfect pushed on me by social media. This feeling of comfort only lasted a while and was shortly followed by concern. Because on the other hand, it was extremely difficult to see just how much videos like these had affected teens all over the world.
As I kept reading comment after comment, I realized that we are all stuck in the same cycle of trying to meet expectations that seemingly have no end. But I also realized another very important thing: the fact that so many people are struggling with the same academic pressures means that this involves a systematic issue, not a personal one. And maybe, if we start talking about this anxiety more openly (not through leaving comments on a TikTok), we can finally realize that maybe these college admissions gurus don’t always know what they are talking about and how checking off boxes won’t guarantee a spot at that “life-changing university.”
I realized that this same energy I put into pressuring myself can be relocated into finding balance, prioritizing my mental and physical health, and recognizing that I am enough just as I am and no tutor on TikTok is going to change that.
