Sitting in the Convocation Center on Career Day in March, I kept hearing over and over again from alumnae that Carrollton was harder than college. A common theme was that their high school education prepared them for their future.
Natalia Garcia Hanna, class of ’24, seemed to agree with these graduates as she shared her positive experience as a freshman at Boston College. “I believe Carrollton really prepared me for college,” she said. “High school was challenging, and I am happy where I am at due to Carrollton challenging me.”
But that got me thinking, should it really be that way? High school can be tough—especially at schools like ours. Between major assessments, a ton of homework, and extracurriculars, it often feels like there just aren’t enough hours in the day. This can lead some students to experience serious anxiety.
In fact, according to a recente article in The Washington Post, students at high-achieving schools are now considered “at-risk” for mental illness due to high levels of stress, anxiety, and burnout. This raises a valid concern—while survivors of this system might look back and say they are grateful, should teenagers be experiencing this much pressure?
Students like Nina Heffron ‘27 question if it’s too much. “It’s really, really hard,” she said, “and rigorous and stressful.” Heffron worries the level of stress is unhealthy for students our age.
“I don’t think high school should be harder than college because we’re in a stage of finding ourselves, and we’re also growing,” she said. “Sleep is really important, and sometimes we lose that. College is supposed to be the next step up—why are we experiencing that now?”
Carolina Kadre ‘27 also feels the pressure. “What we think is expected of us makes it harder because we think everyone should have amazing grades and be a well-rounded person,” she said. “The workload is a lot, and with sports and extracurriculars, it takes away time from training and other things we care about.”
It’s important to note that it hasn’t always been this way. High school has become increasing difficult. An NPR article “The Kids Are Not Alright” discusses how high school students today face unprecedented levels of stress, largely due to competition for elite college admissions. This pressure to get into a prestigious college takes away the desire to learn for some students, making school just a competition to earn the highest grades possible. All of the stress and pressure may not be as beneficial to learning as we think.
Despite this, there are many students who believe there are benefits of a challenging high school experience. Kadre acknowledges that Carrollton has improved her work ethic, which will help her in life and with future job opportunities. “I think Carrollton is very difficult, but I think it prepares us for the future and to be successful and to know what hard work is,” she said.
This idea is backed up with research from the American Institute of Stress. While certain levels of stress can be harmful, controlled exposure to challenging situations builds resilience. If high school is hard, students enter college already equipped with strong time management skills, discipline, and the ability to handle demanding coursework. These skills not only help in school but as students face challenges later in life.
If high school were too easy, students might enter college unprepared for the workload and self-discipline required.
So, how much stress is too much in high school? The goal of education is to empower, strengthen, and prepare students for the future. The reality is that a college preparatory high school like Carrollton isn’t for everyone. If a student decides she is facing too much pressure and stress with grades and college prep, then she should think about what path is right for her.
I think high schools have yet to find the right balance between preparing students and pressuring them too much to succeed. It is important to realize there is more to life than grades and college, but I do think Carrollton prepares us by instilling values such as hard work and persistence that are necessary for us to succeed in whatever we decide to do.
