College decision day is May 1st. This is when high school seniors decide and announce where they will be attending college the next year. Even though this is supposed to be an exciting time for seniors, it comes with major judgment.

“Not good enough”

A lot of students will judge their classmates because the college they’re attending next fall is “not good enough”. There’s a stigma that if you’re not going to a top 20 school, then you’re not good enough. However, a lot of students cannot even afford a top 20 school if they even got into it. This year, there was a lot of judgment thrown, especially on social media. Due to COVID-19, college applications had a massive influx this year. A school that would usually have a 30% acceptance rate, might have gone down to a 10%. This was a common thing that happened due to how many applications they got this year. This caused many seniors to not get into schools they would have been accepted to if times were normal.

Social media has a huge influence on the judgment that comes when choosing a college. Many high school seniors are on TikTok, a social media platform. There were plenty of trends this year where seniors showed where they were going to college. It looked like everyone was going to either an ivy league or a top 20 school, which could be really discouraging to those who are going to a state school. Those same people would also turn their nose up to the people that will be attending a state school next year. Even though it’s perfectly okay to go to a state school, this generation has made it seem like it’s not.

“Oh… you’re not going to college?”

There are also those high school seniors that are choosing to go a different route after high school. Whether it may be the military, a trade school, or going straight to a job after high school, there’s a judgment that comes when you tell someone you’re not going to college. Our generation has also made it very discouraging for those who decide not to go to college. Most people believe that college is the only way to go after high school. However, there are many people that succeed without going to college.

There are many students that hate school and hate everything that has to do with it. So them being forced to go to college when they don’t want to will be both a waste of time and money. Those who make the tough decision to not go to college, are not only faced with arguments from family but then they also have to face the judgment of society. Even though it’s nobody’s business but their own, they are judged because they made the decision that is best for them.

One thing we should all keep in mind throughout college decision and graduation season is that everyone makes a decision that works best for them, and they should not be judged for what will make them happy in the future.