There is such a wide range of colleges in America. There are schools with 1,000 people and those with 30,000 people. There are schools in rural, urban, and suburban places. There are traditions and campus cultures for just about every type of person. However, as a society, we fail to recognize that our students are just as unique as the colleges from which they can choose. We automatically pin the valedictorian as “Ivy-bound” without thinking about whether they really want to attend an Ivy League school to begin with.
The reward isn’t being able to go to what society deems as a good college. The reward is having more options to attend the right school for you. Every college-bound student has a list of schools where they think they would fit in really well. When high school students work hard to develop socially, practice their skills, master subjects, and figure out their interests, they put themselves in a much better position to be selected by their school of choice. They won’t have to stress as much about going after those schools. Those schools will go after them.