At lunch a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine was explaining her plan for getting into college.

She had color-coded the list of clubs in our agendas: ones that she was in, ones in which she had a leadership position, and ones that she would join before submitting her college application this year. Officially, she could call herself a member of fourteen clubs.

I was shocked. Fourteen? Did she know that the Common Application only gives you room for seven activities?

Nevertheless, soon I began evaluating everything I have done for the past three years. With my curriculum vitae completed, this was not hard. I have been involved and hard-working.

In fact, I have followed the PRIDE acronym that’s been pounded into my brain on the first day of school since freshman year.

But with the college application process becoming so much more competitive, I cannot help but feel like I do not have a chance. Under the tremendous pressure of this competition, I know some of my peers have sacrificed their morals to get ahead.

When every grade matters, I understand why someone would want to ensure that "A" with a solid grade on the final. I may understand the pressure, but I could never condone cheating. I feel cheating is the lowest of the low. If you aren’t capable of memorizing the material, don’t act like like you are.

And I cannot help but feel that joining a bunch of clubs last minute is dishonest. Do we seniors really think we can fool the admissions officers with quickly-hashed resumes?

Unfortunately, adding clubs is not all that students do to patch up their applications.

Exaggerating volunteer hours and making ‘community service’ out of things that don’t actually serve the community is another common tactic of improving an application.

Maybe you have even heard about a senior last year who invented a non-profit company in a foreign country, complete with a website to prove its existence.

I do not know if this student’s fake website is gossip, truth, or a blend of both, but such dishonesty appalls me.

The college application process draws high school students into a harmful atmosphere. The process is very stressful, some even claiming it brought the worst out in their personalities.

Unfortunately, admissions officers see our lives in the two-dimensional pages we submit. They see who we are as ‘hours spent per week,’ and filled-in bubbles on standardized tests.

We are told that the essay is the "face" of the application, giving the admissions officers a chance to ‘see the real student,’ but asking someone to put who they are in under 500 words is impossible.

I recently attended a seminar with representatives from five extremely competitive schools.

An admissions officer from Duke University explicitly stated that schools do not want students to strategize in the application process. He said that we should just apply where we want to go and not think about helping our chances for getting in.

I was tempted to ask if they strategize when admitting students. Asking us not to strategize is unfair when most top schools have acceptance rates under twenty percent.

(Duke University’s rate is 17 percent).

So I see a dilemma. I can revolt against the college admissions process, or pull myself together and try my hardest.

I think I will choose the latter, despite any revulsion I bear for the current system.

I wish I could keep my peers from being dishonest, or from stressing out about college as much as I have. I cannot, but I will not stop trying.

No, instead, I will submit my applications when I finish them, and just hope for the best.