In a normal year, the college application season is already filled with questions, self-doubt and uncertainties.
Is my SAT score good enough? What do colleges want to see from me?
In a normal year, students try their best to navigate an ever-evolving and convoluted admission process, one that differs from what their parents experienced. In a normal year, students ask questions, and their questions vary little from year to year.
But this year hasn’t been normal for Kehillah Jewish High School’s Class of 2024, and their questions have taken on a different tone.
What if they don’t admit me because I’m Jewish?
On the Monday we came back to our Palo Alto school after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, we held an emergency all-school assembly first thing in the morning. The large multipurpose room where we met was eerily quiet. Unlike all the other times we’ve gathered, there was no side chattering or giggling.
Many of our students have family ties to Israel and deep connections to the country and region. Those who don’t have direct ties shared in their friends’ shock and sadness. What they couldn’t know at the time was how difficult the next months would become, with controversies on college campuses about the war, student activism, a spike in antisemitism and much more.
For the seniors in particular, it made the application season, already a stressful time in their lives, even more so.
Nonetheless, they needed to keep their heads in the game. By October they had already decided on a list of colleges to which they would apply. They were filling out lengthy applications, writing draft after draft of personal essays, managing application logistics across multiple platforms and rushing toward the first round of early application deadlines in November and December. I didn’t see many students make significant changes to their college list. There was no time.
There were, however, more questions. One student, who has been influenced by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, questioned whether she should highlight that in her essay in discussing her extensive involvement in community service. Another student, who was thinking about how to respond to an application prompt about the theme song of his life, wanted to share that he finds himself humming “Oseh Shalom” in the shower, but then doubted whether it would be a good choice.
Am I talking too much about being Jewish? Should I talk about being Jewish at all?
The anxious questions and self-doubt from students about expressing their Jewish identity, even whether to express it at all, saddened me. The college admissions process asks students to be vulnerable and authentic, but how could they be when they are concerned that who they are could be held against them? In those moments, the best I could tell them was, “Be real! Be proud! If they don’t want you because of how you identify, is that really the school for you?”
Students started to receive early application decisions in December. Some got positive news, many did not. That’s to be expected, as college admissions get more competitive each year. Yet for those who did not get their hoped-for outcomes, it triggered new questions.
Should I have included the piece about being Jewish in my application? Could it have influenced the admission decision?
In my view, not likely. For students applying to highly selective colleges with admission rates of 10% or lower, the chances of being offered a spot were slim to begin with, statistically speaking. That didn’t stop them from wondering. In the end, some students updated their personal essays for the regular application round, removing all mention of their Jewishness. Some didn’t and hoped for the best.
To help students make their school selections, we also shared resources such as Brandeis University’s “Hotspots of Antisemitism on U.S. College Campuses,” Hillel’s “Top 60 Colleges by Jewish Population” and the Anti-Defamation League’s “Campus Antisemitism Report Card.”
Throughout April and May, as seniors deliberated where they would like to live and learn for the next four years, protests and encampments escalated on college campuses. There were more questions.
Will I be safe? Am I expected to participate in pro-Israel rallies on campus because I’m Jewish? How do my Jewish values compel me to act in this moment?
At a time when they should be celebrating a milestone with excitement, many of the graduating seniors are moving ahead with apprehension. While some are optimistic that the situation will improve by the time they get to campus in the fall, many others are worried.
Unlike any other, this has been a tumultuous application season for our seniors. Yet I remain hopeful that as a school community we have helped to equip our students to use their critical thinking skills, engage in civil dialogue and face challenges with resilience and kindness, no matter where they are heading this fall.