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In this piece, a law student reflects on the unnecessary and unhealthy competition that now exists at many highly selective undergraduate college campuses, like Penn, which she attended.
A few quotes:
The recently publicized tensions on college campuses, particularly those in the heavily scrutinized Ivy League, are among many forces at play for students today. But there’s another that has not yet captivated the news cycle.
It’s called pre-professional pressure: a prevailing culture that convinces many of us that only careers in fields such as computer programming, finance and consulting, preferably at blue-chip firms like Goldman Sachs, McKinsey or big tech companies, can secure us worthwhile futures. It is an inescapable part of the current college experience, like tailgating or surviving on stale dining hall food. It not only steers our life choices, it also permeates daily life and negatively affects our mental health.
Then there are the parents, who have enormous influence on their children’s career choices. Take a deep breath. A kid’s first word doesn’t need to be “revenue” or his first language Java. It’s hard to not want the best for your children — and not to define it as them starting the next Amazon. But stop and think about what actually makes them happy and keeps them sane, not what you think will keep them safe.
There's a lot to say on this topic-- starting with the current overwhelming focus on professional degrees as the source of "ROI" on a college education. We have far too many students now majoring in business, or in the case here, economics, because of the perceived value of the degree, whether or not it aligns with their interests. In turn, students are struggling to find jobs in an oversaturated market in which their degree does not distinguish them-- or arguably, prepare them for a constantly changing 21st century work world that is already being turned upside down by AI.
Most students I talk to are not aware of the brutal competition just to join clubs and organizations at some of the most "prestigious" institutions. There is a lot to be said for the big, happy middle of American colleges that provide opportunity for engagement and exploration, plus the mentorship of faculty whose focus is teaching and who are invested in undergraduate success and outcomes after graduation!
I sometimes tell students the story of a former admission colleague of mine, who had attended a college in New Jersey that is known for "eating clubs," and succumbed to pressure over their years there to major in finance. They ended up with a job in investment banking in San Francisco-- the holy grail! But in reality, they hated everything about that job, even though it paid well. They started working in our admission office at Trinity U in San Antonio, their hometown, to regroup-- and ended up being a powerful advocate for the kind of supportive, faculty-led, liberal arts education they saw on campus-- which they were quick to say was far more engaging, personally expanding, and full of mentorship and opportunity than what they experienced at their Ivy League college. Later, that person followed their passions and ended up with a graduate degree in non- nuclear proliferation studies, and landed in a super prestigious think tank role, followed by high-level international consulting jobs at Google, Meta, and elsewhere.
Understanding these realities of lived college experience is all part of the "evidence-based," informed college decision-making I aim to cultivate in my clients!
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