As juniors begin the college application process, a nervous anxiety about whether their hard work will be able to get them into their dream college festers at the back of their minds. All of the work from lower, middle and high school seems to build up to this defining moment. 

Yet rather than hyper-focusing on the end result of the admissions process, juniors and younger students should realize that college is what you make of it, regardless of what institution you attend.

Much of the college admissions anxiety at Lab is built around the perception that students have to work as hard as humanly possible in order to achieve the goal of getting admitted to their dream college. Yet this idea confuses the whole concept of college. It makes it seem that going to a highly selective college is the key to lifelong success and happiness. 

College is not about which institution you attend but rather how you make the most of the experience. It is a unique environment to learn how to learn, listen to a diverse range of international perspectives and gain independence. These skills can be gained from any school, and they only require that students have a committed and purposeful mindset to make the most of the college experience.

As the college application process starts for juniors, each person should approach it with the mindset that college is just the next step in the journey of personal growth.