Colleges and employers expect students to bring a lot to the table. Their idea of a perfect candidate is a person who volunteers, has a healthy social life, has good grades, was involved in extracurriculars and has a special talent. Although some of these are attainable, it’s impossible for one person to do it all at once, and it could be unhealthy.

According to collegeboard.org, colleges are looking for someone who can lead, a commitment to service and a special talent or ability. High school students spend a lot of time working for good grades and working at their jobs that these other things can take the backburner.

Often the applications will ask you what extracurriculars you were involved in during high school. A lot of stress is placed on getting involved while students are here, but that can start taking away time from studying and other things.

Time management helps solve a lot of problems, but there are only so many hours in a day. According to the National Sleep Foundation, teens need at least eight to 10 hours of sleep every night to perform their best. On average teens only get about 7, according  to the Nationwide Children’s hospital. Among the obvious drawbacks, sleep deprivation can limit a person’s problem solving ability, learning ability and concentration.

Sometimes working so hard doesn’t feel like it’s worth it, but this is what colleges and employers expect. It’s impossible to manage everything and high school is hard as it is.

Students have a lot of expectations put on them, it’s up to each person to prioritize what they do on a daily basis. But colleges should not put such pressure on students to do it all at once. Instead they should look at the effort they put into everything they did accomplish.