Applying to college in America is one of the most discouraging experiences one can take upon his or herself.

High school students are looking forward to soon applying to colleges throughout the nation starting August 1st, when most college applications are available including the widely used CommonApp. This year, incoming seniors in high school will work hard on personal statements and getting in all the necessary test scores and paper work in to get a chance in the lottery of college admissions. After clicking the submit button, the fate of the nation's young adults lies in the hands of unpredictable college admissions counselors.

Even before that, students nationwide have tried to build resumes that students believe are enough to meet the standards of colleges in America nowadays. To be the best, one must get a perfect 2400 on the SAT (1600 now with the new SAT), a 4.0 GPA, an Olympic athlete, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Even then perfect is never enough. Striving for perfection sometimes could even seem too robotic or "too formulaic" to college admission deans and counselors. The state of college admissions actually causes strains in families because of students not finding enough time to spend with their families while striving for perfection. In 2016, students either settle for less to achieve normal social relationships or make being perfect academically on paper the only way of living. This a sad reality and one that affects young adults worldwide. Life is being stripped away from students to achieve "success".

Once a student manages to get through getting accepted into a college with a 6% acceptance rate, the only problem now is trying to come up with a small fee of $50,000 a year. College affordability is not only a problem for 18-25 year olds-- it is a nationwide issue because education is the key for real progress and real change in our crises. Each country is assessed based on how they treat the most vulnerable citizens. Just like how we cannot afford to abandon the elderly or the innocent youth, we cannot afford to abandon college students who are vulnerable to overbearing amount of debt. The United States of America was not establish to hold back its students it was founded to encourage students to exceed boundaries through promotion of education. Education is not only an investment, it is a promise for our future- a key to an enhanced human existence. It is our responsibility to begin a path for a make just college admission process while making it more affordable to achieve an education in order to be a contributing member in this 21st century society. New challenges will soon arise and fixing this prominent issue will undeniably become a solution to the many issues that will fundamentally change this generation.