Most teenagers will admit that, compared to their parents’ generation, they’ve got it pretty good. Modern day technology like cellphones, laptops, video games, and even things we consider basic necessities like microwaves and the T.V. guide are privileges that our parents never had. In many ways life has become easier for teens, although one part is now much more difficult: the college process.

Over the years the college process has become, in a sense, a game of high stakes. Kids often take part in extracurricular activities and community service for the sole purpose of making themselves look good on college applications. Parents make large donations to schools their kids will apply to and make connections with people in the admissions world to increase their child’s chances of being accepted. There is a lot of competition to get into schools and expectations are high, making the process more complicated and intense than ever.

“I think that it’s a lot harder to get into school now, [and] there are a lot more expectations,” said senior Alicia Winokur. “I think in general it’s just more effort because before you probably just had to fill out a basic application and fill out an essay and that’s it, maybe do an interview, but now it seems like there’s a lot of work to do.”

“I think there’s a lot more pressure and higher expectations for us, and it’s a lot more competitive now than it used to be,” said senior Hallie Cramer.

“Oh my gosh, [getting in to college] was so easy. I don’t remember doing anything like you guys do,” said media center technology assistant, Susan Pressman. “We still had to do SATs, but I don’t even remember having to write a college essay.”

“I’ve said this before, and I honestly believe that I wouldn’t have gotten in to the schools that I got in to then, if I were applying now,” said Vice Principal Allyson Mizoguchi. “I think it’s much more competitive now than it was [when I applied] twenty years ago, it was a totally different landscape. Now it feels like students have to be starting their own businesses, saving the world, travelling internationally, starting non-profits to even get their toes in the door.”

Between the application requirements, SAT scores, extracurricular expectations and general competitiveness for acceptance into schools, applying to college has now become major part of high school seniors lives — sometimes an overbearing part.

“Applications are stressful added on to the other work we have to do,” said Cramer.

“Your senior year is supposed to be a fun year, but with the schoolwork, working and meeting college deadlines it can be overwhelming,” said Pressman.

While the stress and work of college applications climaxes at the beginning of senior year, today the college process spans a few years.

From online research to campus visits, finding the right school has become a lifestyle, often one that a  student’s whole family gets involved in. Younger siblings are often a part of their older sibling’s college search, tagging along on road trips and taking in school statistics many years before their own search even begins.

“I guess I started the college process when I went along visiting [schools] with my brother when I was a sophomore and he was a junior,” said senior Jonah Greenawalt.

“[I started the college process in] seventh grade,” said senior Alicia Winokur. “My sister started to apply to college and I think to deflect the stress she was like, ‘Oh Alicia, here, you go on the CollegeBoard site and look at all of the colleges that would be good for you,’ so yeah, it’s a long road but it only recently started getting serious.”

Parents are also much more involved with their child’s college process than they ever used to be, investing more time, work and worries in their kid’s future.

“My mom has been like my secretary,” said senior Liana Nierenberg, “She’ll ask me what she can do for me, and she’ll only do the busy work like calling colleges, but she won’t do any of the essays or anything like that for me.”

“It’s nice that my parents don’t nag me about [applications] because I think I would go insane very quickly,” said Winokur. “But it would be nice if they sat down with me one day and did my apps with me. They never have set time for that, but that’s also my fault because I should be like, ‘Mom! Dad! Applications! Now!'”

“My parents hover from a distance,” said senior Tori Hill. “They’ll make [applications] a big deal but then they won’t do anything to help me with them. It’s a big deal for them, but they’re not involved in the actual process.”

“When I applied to college the only thing my parents said was ‘We want you to get in to the best school that you can.’ My dad’s mantra all along has been to keep options open for yourself, so in my mind the harder I worked, the more options I had open to me,” said Mizoguchi.

The number and variety of colleges students apply to has changed considerably since their parents applied. Today, kids focus on finding the perfect school, sometimes applying to upwards of twelve schools, while their parents generally applied to two or three local schools.

“I think [my father] applied to BC and one other place, and he ended up going to BC, that’s it,” said Winokur.

“I don’t think my dad visited colleges; I think he kind of just went to one place that was close to him,” said Nierenberg.

“From what I know about my parents’ experience, they each applied to many fewer schools because they didn’t really have the idea that ‘Oh I might not get in to this one.’ It was more like, ‘Yeah I like that one, so I’ll go there’,” said Greenawalt. “For me, I think there’s a lot more pressure because even if you think you can get in to a school, you don’t really know, so you should apply to more.”

With all these changes in the college application experience over the years, do kids feel like their parents understand what they are going through?

“I think they know what it’s like,” said senior Tommy Hoops. “I mean, I think that they are going through the same thing as I am because they are the ones helping me through the process.”

“I think that my parents don’t really understand what it takes to get into a school,” said Hill. “My mom is always saying, ‘Why aren’t you applying here?’ and I’m like ‘Hello, I’m not that smart!’ I don’t think they understand that skill-wise, but I think they understand it’s hard to get into different schools.”

“I think sometimes my parents miss the idea that it’s a bit more competitive now, but they are generally understanding of the time and effort [involved in the process],” said Greenawalt.

“I was stressed out doing the whole college process with my daughter, and I went through it all with her, though I think she put more pressure on herself than I did,” said Pressman.

The college process might differ from when parents went to school, but adults are more insightful about the experience than students may think.

“I know that [students] want the prestige of going to an Ivy League school, but when you look at the big picture it’s not going to matter,” said Pressman. “You’re not going to walk around your whole life with Harvard plastered on your chest. You can go to a school that’s not quote-unquote, the best school out there. I truly think that an education is what you make of it.”

“Don’t let the admissions process define who you are; be confident in what you’re bringing and in who you are,” said Mizoguchi. “They’ll judge and they’ll render this verdict, which may seem cold and it may be wonderful, but don’t let it diminish who you think that you are.”