This is it, folks.

Clocking in at 3.93 million seniors, the Class of 2025 is the largest in our nation’s history.

It’s also the most diverse. Hispanics comprise 28% of graduates nationwide, and Black high school graduates make up another 14%.

But as birth rates in the United States continue to fall, the Class of 2025 also appears to be the peak for the number of graduates. In fact, the Class of 2037 will contain around 400,000 fewer seniors.

Thus, this year’s graduating class represents the most competitive year for college applications…possibly of all time.

“The increasing competitiveness of college admissions, especially for the Class of 2025, has added extra pressure on students,” senior Margot Martin said. “Many seek the security of being admitted to a highly ranked school or a college they’ve dreamed about attending. Social media has made more students more anxious [by] being bombarded with admissions rates. It’s hard to escape the pressure when it’s right there on your feed.”

Seniors look for any edge they can in college admissions, and increasing amounts of them are turning to early decision, a binding commitment to attend the university upon acceptance. Early decision or early action at many colleges, like Tulane and Harvard, offers acceptance rates sometimes three to four times the Regular Decision rate. However, applicants are locked into attending once accepted.

“Applying early decision is a tough decision,” senior Luke Wang, who applied early to Brown University, said. “I think that people should only do so if and only if they’ve done their research and are absolutely certain that the school they’re applying to has everything they could ever need and want.”

As an added plus, early decision results come out nearly four months before Regular Decision results. In fact, most early decision results are coming out this week or the next, from Dec. 3 to Dec. 17.

“The college application process is long and demanding, often stretching into April or May for final decisions,” Martin said. “Many students are eager for closure and validation that their hard work has paid off. But it’s important to remember that being rejected or deferred does not mean that you are a failure, and you will find success at another school.”

One of seniors (like Archisman Guchhait)’ biggest fears of early decision is that because it is binding, applicants must accept the aid received if accepted, even if it is lower than anticipated.

“Personally, I didn’t ED to any school because I’m not super familiar with how the tuition rates work,” senior Archisman Guchhait said. “I’ve heard that EDing to a school means that you are locked into a contract that could be super expensive.”

Early decision applicants can never be certain of the amount of money they will be offered by a school, and whatever amount they are given, they must accept. Some students can back out of early decision agreements if they demonstrate enough financial hardship, but these cases are few and far between.

“I believe that it’s a great option for students who believe they will really thrive there,” Guchhait said. “I think a lot of the panic revolving around these ED schools is justified since ED-ing to a school typically means that’s your top choice. I can only imagine how stressful the ED wait must be.”

With early decision applications rising 41% across colleges in just four years, it is no sure shot for acceptance. This is especially true for elite universities like Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU, MIT, Yale and Princeton, all of which Bellaire seniors have ED-ed to.

“I get my decision tomorrow (as of saying this on Wednesday, Dec. 11),” senior Dylan Wang, who applied to Princeton University, said. “Am I nervous? Yeah. But the looming decision letter hasn’t mentally paralyzed me.”

Still, Dylan Wang feels like he might be “absolutely coping.”

“Obviously, I feel like I don’t know how I’ll feel after I get my results,” Dylan Wang said. “I sometimes think that I’m just coping by telling myself that I’m not stressed, when in reality, I might be really disappointed or some other strong negative emotion.”
For Dylan Wang, much of the stress comes from the public’s perceptions of college as a whole.

“I’ve been told countless times, ‘Oh, you’re gonna get into XYZ school’ or ‘You’re a strong candidate for the Ivy League,’” Dylan Wang said. “What happens if I don’t get into a T20? What will people think of me?”
Despite the dozens of essays written, many seniors, like Dylan Wang, ironically feel frustrated by the lack of control they have over admissions.

“I totally understand the stress that people have when it comes to college apps,” Dylan Wang said. “It’s the first thing in our lives where the stakes are high, but the agency we have is low. We have almost no control over what goes on in that admissions officer’s room. Maybe the AO liked your essay. Maybe they were in a terrible mood.”

Dylan Wang attributes the stress over admissions to his peers as well.

“There’s no stopping the extremely competitive culture at Bellaire without a complete overhaul of our attitude toward the college admissions process,” Dylan Wang said. “Right now, the amount of people who take on activities primarily to ‘look good for college’ is at an all-time high. In an ideal world, high school should be primarily about taking another step toward finding your passion or simply making valuable connections. We don’t live in an ideal world, but we can do our best to make our culture as close as it can be to one.”

Ultimately Martin, Luke Wang, and Dylan Wang said that where you go to college absolutely does not define you.

“Yes, prestigious universities will almost always provide transformative, world-class experiences for students,” Dylan Wang said. “But that’s because most people who get into these universities are the go-getters who would’ve still been wildly successful at less ‘prestigious’ schools. Undergraduate admissions aren’t the end all, be all.”

For Luke Wang, admission is the least important factor in how he views his friends.

“At the end of the day, the person’s character and growth are the most important,” Luke Wang said. “I try to tell these friends that I’m happy to be their friend, that I’m proud of how much they’ve matured and developed, and that they should be proud of themselves and how far they’ve come.”

Here are the dates for Early Decision results. Emory on Dec. 11; Princeton, Harvard and Caltech on Dec. 12; Brown, NYU and John Hopkins on Dec. 13; Carnegie Mellon on Dec. 15; Duke on Dec. 16; Yale on Dec. 17; and Columbia on Dec. 18.