It’s that time of year again. As acceptance letters roll in, Orono students feel pressured to attend a prestigious university.

Seniors are receiving their admissions decisions and must begin to seriously consider where they will be in the next nine months. At Orono, the pressure to attend a prestigious, nationally ranked university is sky-high. “ I think Orono especially puts pressure on students to strive to attend super-good, brand-name schools and often frowns upon community college,” said senior Ellie Heidorn.

Last year, several Orono seniors attended top schools such as Brown University, Dartmouth College, and Northwestern University. The pressure to match that level of success is felt by many current seniors.

“I would love to attend some highly selective schools,” said senior Adam Bergh, “sometimes I think Orono kids feel they need to attend certain schools to be successful, but it really is more about finding the school you will succeed at.”

Students feel the pressure to excel, not only from the administration, but from parents and peers as well. “Collegiate pressures have dissuaded me from becoming too excited about moving onto a higher institution of learning,” said senior Jeff Sauer.

Publications such as U.S. News and World Report, Forbes Magazine, and The Princeton Review rank colleges by various levels of success. According to the Forbes Magazine website, their “Top Colleges” list ranks schools based on “the things that matter the most to students: quality of teaching, great career prospects, high graduation rates and low-levels of debt. They [the rankings] do not attempt to assess a school’s reputation, nor are they a measure of academic selectivity.”

Said Bergh, “I think prestigious universities are the ones with strong academics so I don’t think they differ that much.” Students have many things to consider when choosing their school, aside from its national recognition. Most importantly, they must focus on the opportunities a school will provide for their individual goals and needs.

Ultimately, collegiate success is based upon what the individual student puts into their experience.“I want the best chance to succeed, and in our society we’ve been led to believe some schools will make that easier, or make it more likely to get a job; whether this is true or not, I can’t say, but I’ll do everything I can to succeed,” said senior Reid Schur.

Andrea Conover is the News Editor for The Spartan Speaks.