Every 12th grader is going through college applications right now; essays, supplements, gathering their life’s work across the past four years and turning it into a curriculum vitae. Then, waiting patiently for 4 months until almost our entire future is decided by an email. All of these fast paced deadlines make students believe they have this oppressive pressure to get into outstanding universities because of the connections, future jobs and prestige these institutions provide.

Natural selection is differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in the relative fitness endowed on them (Darwin, 1859). This was a vital part in the theory of evolution and is more simply understood as “Survival of the Fittest.” Although most universities do not require inherent fitness (except for MIT with their swim test), they do help to control the members in positions of influence and power in society. Prestigious companies, political institutions and impactful roles in society tend to place people who went to the aforementioned prestigious schools on a pedestal. Consequently, students often want to go to distinguished universities because they seem like the pipeline to presumed success. Frankly, the comparison is theoretical. Universities don’t physically eliminate individuals who don’t attend their universities.

Colleges like Stanford (3.6%), Harvard (4.2%), and Columbia (3.9%) are widely associated with prestige due to their low acceptance rates and esteemed alumni who have gone on to be US Presidents, Founders of billionaire MNC’s and people whose inventions you probably use to this day. It appears as if college admissions are the difficult part, even if post-college life turns out to be just as cutthroat (I wouldn’t know – I’m still writing my supplementals). A university experience at one of these schools provides students with comprehensive connections and a flawless education that feed right into the multi national enterprise they wish to work for. One thing to clarify is, a lower acceptance rate ≠ prestige or future success. Instead, a low acceptance rate primarily reflects high applicant demand relative to limited seats rather than automatically guaranteeing personal success – but the competition to be that 4% feels a lot like “Survival of the Fittest.”

Therefore, parallels are definitely evident between the process of natural selection and college applications. The main human divide nowadays is the wealth gap, mainly fueled by esteemed universities. By going to one of these schools, your future opportunities are supposed to open up more. Businesses, organisations and institutions consider you a better applicant simply by the issuer of your degree. Like natural selection, which removes genes, traits or species unadapted to the environment, universities filter out applicants without the correct grades, extracurriculars or essays.

With admissions, students are expected to put all of their achievements, goals and progress as individuals into 10 activities, 650 word essays and an optional supplemental, all for them to be judged in 15 minutes by people they don’t know. People often spend months preparing, stressing and overthinking about these 15 minutes, and have to wait almost 4 months before they know what admissions officers determine. Students have to produce an exceptional essay about growth and their identity, a comprehensive activity list with pinpoint metrics and impeccable grades that show consistent success, with no room for error. This creates a definitive stress that resonates with almost every senior at Woodstock right now.

Furthermore, beyond the stress to manage to get accepted, tuition remains expensive. Prestigious universities cost almost double the average salary of a person in the United States and are very meticulous with selecting applicants (or rather, not selecting) those that qualify for financial aid packages. They often prioritize people with legacy or members who can pay full tuition. This fosters an environment of ultra wealthy people occupying spots at the dream universities of millions. Similar to natural selection, where those who are fit survive and produce similar offspring till a majority of society is at the caliber they are, universities hand pick applicants that they want to receive their education, prioritise members of that family and charge ridiculous amounts of tuition funds so only people with pre existing prestige can afford their universities.

Those without university education are often considered uneducated and society deems them ineligible for high-paying roles, perpetuating systemic cycles of socioeconomic inequality. This creates a socioeconomic filter that cements a hierarchy reinforcing itself after every application cycle.

Realistically, college admissions don’t exactly mirror the process of biological evolution, but to every 12th grader confused during senior seminar, it sure feels like it. The system filters applicants based on adaptabilities, preference and resources, leaving students feeling as though their integration or survival into the upper echelons relies on 10 activities, 650 words and the numbers that linger on our report cards. Now the only thing left to do is not be genetically phased out of society.

Written by Arjuna T, Staff Writer at The Woodstocker
Edited by Tisya K, Editor at The Woodstocker