With application deadlines for college quickly approaching, students are feeling more pressure than ever.

For most high school students nowadays, school is one of the leading causes of built up stress and anxiety.

With six or more classes and other extracurricular activities students often times find themselves drowning in school work. Most colleges put the pressure on students to be well-rounded and at the top of their class.

Schools don’t want just straight A students: they want students that can do anything and everything. Leadership is something that many colleges look for, along with volunteering.

It has become nearly impossible to be the “perfect student” when applying for college.

Everyone wants to say that they got into their dream school but with all the competition it is becoming extremely hard.

High schoolers are working around the clock to maintain their grades but with six classes and extracurriculars it is challenging.

Their health is being compromised because they are so worried about getting into good schools. It is common for students to stay up till 1 or 2 a.m. doing homework or studying for a test.

Even with all this effort it is still hard for kids to get the grades they want.

Some students play sports or volunteer which takes up lots of time which contributes to their increasing stress levels.

Most students deal with overwhelming pressure from their parents to get amazing grades, and that has now turned into putting pressure on themselves.

Although most students stress and worry about school, there are still some who don’t.

Some students choose not to stress over their grades or take basic classes to make sure things aren’t too hard for them. There’s an upside and downside to these students’ mindsets.

On one hand it alleviates unwanted pressure and stress off of their shoulders so they can have a stress free high school experience. On the other hand most of these students don’t push themselves and don’t perform as well as other students taking on multiple AP classes and extracurriculars.

There needs to be a middle ground when it comes to the amount of pressure students should deal with when it comes to school. It has gotten to the point where some students start to suffer from anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues because of school which I know most parents and teachers don’t want along with the students.

Allowing students to take difficult classes while still enjoying school will enhance their high school experience and will benefit their mental health.

At Rio students can decide if they want to take all AP classes or take no AP classes it is up to them, they decide the course of their education.

Nowadays most adults and parents find it hard to understand the stress and difficulties teens go through during high school.

Most parents need to lessen the pressure they put on their students, so that their students can stop putting so much pressure on themselves.

Although minimal pressure is good for motivational purposes, school should never make students feel as though they are out of control of their lives causing serious mental health issues, and this needs to be addressed.

High school is something that students should enjoy, not something they hate.