Pressure to Be Perfect

This year, the students of Peninsula High School increased the API ranking by nine points; the class of 2012 had 26 valedictorians; Peninsula High is ranked 24 in the state and 137 in the country, according to the ranking of US News. These sorts of accomplishments don’t come without work and stress. A grade-wide survey found 67% of all students are frazzled due to academics.

“I’m up late doing homework,” junior Brett MacGilfrey said. As a result, he often sleeps less than 8 hours as recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. As a matter of fact, 48% of the student body sleeps less than six hours each night.

“At a high school like this one, people are so overscheduled and pressured to achieve at the highest level compared to our neighbors,” music director Fred Steiner said.

As freshman Hannah Irish said, “trying to do things to get into college” is stressful for all students. Many seniors added in their surveys that college applications were a big stressor for them as well. With the top 100 colleges in the nation’s acceptance rate being less than 33% and many seniors from Peninsula applying to many of them, it’s hard for many of them to have time to relieve stress, as shown by some students’ responses. The surveys found that few students, especially seniors, had any time to relax. Too much work and many extra curricular activities account for 6.5% of the student body. In today’s high pressure society, where higher education is a must, many students are pressured to be perfect.