Mind the Gap

Put College on the Waiting List

Get in. Get out. That’s my advice to high school seniors: get in to college, then get out of your comfort zone.

My Los Angeles high school was the quintessential pressure cooker. In the months leading up to application deadlines, college counselors guided us towards “reach” schools, “realistic possibilities,” and “safeties,” supposedly tidy categorizations that only served to heighten competitiveness and stress. Class assemblies reminded us to avoid discussing our choices or wearing any college gear.

Then the letters came. Conflicting emotions washed over campus. The dust settled. The school paper published …