Kalista Sampat

Are the standards set higher than previous generations for young adults
today by colleges/firms?
The aim of this essay is to understand what hurdles today’s working generation faces while
applying for universities /jobs because perhaps more is anticipated out of this generation than
any other.

Introduction:
It is no mystery that the world is growing at a rapid pace, as gaps between the industrial
revolutions shorten each time. Having advances in filed of education has enabled more
people to use it to advance forward; todays mellienals otherwise known as generation Y(1)
faces prodigal competition. Many universities and firms have very high expectations from
their applicants. This report explores the different aspects of this issue, my own take on it,
how it has impacted the world around us, and the different causes and consequences.

Issue Analysis and Evaluation:

Millennials are the current working generation, one could vaguely say that the future is in
their hands; and their hands are plenty full. Every generation varies from the previous, as the
world advances forward; the next generation is expected to complete what the previous didn’t.
Each generation expects more out of the next; millennials face the brunt of this phenomena.
Increasing expectations from millennials add stress to their life, while intensifying vie for
success between them. Major issues that arise from setting the bar too high for millennials are
low employment levels, lowering college acceptance rates, along with higher stress/depression

Percentage of Average University Acceptance Rates

15

11

0
Brown University Columbia University Yale MIT
2007 2017 2018

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC
levels in millennials. ‘Overall, fully 78 percent of adults agreed that"compared to earlier generations it is
currently harder" for young people today "to get started in life.”’ (2)

The word perceives millennials to be the impatient, spoiled, and lazy generation, because of
the amount of time millennials spend on their gadgets instead of doing “work”. What people
fail to understand is that the technological advancements have enabled people to work/
receive education on their laptops, or phones. Jobs such as bloggers, instagram models,
YouTubers etc are becoming more and more popular. Although technology allowed for all
theses new jobs/educational opportunities to be created, it also made it so that the
competition increases. When the news prints the digital headlines of an eighteen year-old
going viral on the internet for becoming one of the youngest business-men, every parent
tends to pressure their own millennial children to achieve something grand. This pressure
builds every time another headline is printed about another millennial’s outstanding
achievements.

Personal Perspective:
Although I’m not part of the millennial generation, many of the people in my life are. Since
I’m a part of the coming working-generation, I feel that it is important to understand the
issues the current generation is facing. The expectations are being set higher and higher for
the coming generations. After observing my peers, and other millennials around me I have
formulated an opinion of my own, which is that much more is expected out of millennials
than any of the previous generations. I have observed how my cousin brother had to build a
strong resume filled with extra curricular activities and internships to send out to different
colleges. Many parents start sending their kids to extra classes from the tender ages of 10 or
11, because they are aware that universities now expect children to have great grades but also
have extra curricular hobbies. Not everyone is able to cope up with the stress of going
different classes, doing homework, finding internships while maintaining a healthy mental
state.

Local Perspective:
Over the past 5 years the number of international schools in Mumbai has increased, and
many colleges now offer students to be based in International campuses. With these advances
the competition between students continues to increase. The pressure to do outstandingly well
on the 10th garden board examination and have your photos printed on billboards is
overwhelming. IIT Mumbai has one of the lowest acceptance rates (which continue to drop
lower) along with University of Mumbai. Every year the cut-offs for getting into one of these
colleges increases. Many young adults turn to running their own fashion blogs, becoming self-
taught photographers, or delve into entrepreneurship. When I asked my father he said that

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC
most generation X(**) individuals did not attended universities after finishing their 12th grade
(junior college), and started either working for their family business, or look for a job. He also
mentioned that he only stated attending after school classes after coming into high-school.
That most definitely is not the case anymore, children start going to classes for almost every
subject, and for extra activities as soon as the reach third grade. Despite there being so much
competition and so many expectations being thrown in the direction of Mumbai’s millennials,
they thrive to work very hard. The exposure they have had to technology has helped them
become the most influential and the most advantages for future business accomplishments.
Mumbai has grown forward because of theses millennials and their forward minded thinking.

National Perspective:
There are over 400 million millennials in India and with a growing number of educational
institutes and firms all over India, along with having a growing number of foreign students
increase over the past few years has contributed to heightening the expectations from the
current working generation. Firms ask their candidates for multiple qualifications based on
the field that they are entering, as well as previous experiences at the job, and
internships.They not only expect all of the basic requirements to be met, they also want all
candidates to go above and beyond to bring in handsome resumés. Many families in India put
tremendous pressure on their millennial children to succeed and land well paying jobs.
Families are often not accepting of the jobs that millennials want to take up, and instead force
another job upon them. As a pleasant surprise over 80% of Indian millennials want to work
hard and reach management positions in companies as well as bring India and its economy
forward. 70% of the millennials are grateful for the education they have received since they
feel it has prepared them to work in the real world. “ In general, the younger generation
in emerging markets is far more optimistic about the future than those in the
developed world.” Many employers say that they prefer hiring Indian millennials, since
Indian millennials are very ambitious, and passionate about working. Their strong hold on
their intricate traditional/cultural beliefs pair well with their tech-savvy and modern ideas;
making them strong and smart individuals.

Global Perspective:
It is a popular culture to ridicule the millennial lifestyle, and point out the many flaws in
today’s youth. Many business magazines call millennials impatient, lazy and fickle minded. In
a youtube web-series called Middle Ground by Jubilee a woman from the baby boomer
generation expresses how millennials never want to settle, and that is why unemployment
levels in the youth are high. Another woman in the same video mentions how she think many
millennials don’t work as hard as baby boomers did since they have “too easy”; she also
mentioned that millennials that live in Los Angeles (these millennials mainly work in the

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC
creative arts industry) are very motivated and hard working and other millennials should be
like them. The statements made by these women go on to prove that the millennial
generation in judged heavily, and a-lot of pressure in put on millennials to study well and find
great jobs. As the video proceeded, the group of millennials and baby boomers were asked if
they feel that life is harder for today’s young generation, and all of them agreed. One man
mentioned how companies have become more picky on their selections, and they don't
provide bonuses or pensions anymore. Another woman mentioned how the cost of living has
increased, but the amount of jobs have decreased. Youth unemployment is currently at it’s
lowest.

Percentage of Youth Population that is Unemployed

28

21

14

0
US Australia South Africa South Korea
2014 2018

The youth of this world is expected to achieve all that the previous generation couldn’t, fix
what the previous generation destroyed, and be successful. Millennials suffer massive amounts
of pressure when it comes to applying for universities or looking for jobs.

Course of Action:
After conducting my research and going to the various statistics I have collected, I have come
to understand that the only possible way that millennials will be able to cope with the high
standards is to work hard. It wouldn't be fair if everything is just handed to every millennial,
many would take that to their advantage. It is a well known fact that people take the low-
income housing allowances in the US for granted; if governments were to make it so that
universities have to accept a certain amount of “under performing” students nobody would
want to put in effort. I spoke to my cousin who is 19 years old (a millennial) who mentioned
that many of his generation refuse to work and instead focus more on wanting to be “cool”,
or wanting everything handed to them.

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC
Causes and Consequences:
It is a well known fact that the time lapsed between each industrial revolution is shortening.
Each industrial revolution brings with new inventions that can replace old jobs. The most
recent one brought us the internet and artificial intelligence which has replaced many manual
and factory jobs since then. With the continuous advancement of technology, many jobs are
eradicated, giving no choice millennials but to apply for alternative jobs. The technological
advancement has also brought in a higher competition for millennials, as the popularity on E-
Schools and Colleges increases, people are getting education right at home. The internet has
empowered many millennials to start taking online courses, earning their degrees and starting
their careers with the help of the internet. The number of applicants that colleges receive is
increasing every year, many students these days carry rather impressive resumes with excellent
credentials, increasing the competition for the rest. Over 32,390 students applied to Brown
this year and only 9% got accepted. Over the past 5 decades the results of the SAT, TOFL,
GMAT etc tests as well as showing outstanding performances in extra activities is show
increasing importance in the fate of a student's admission/job opportunity. Not all mellienals
exposed to these kind of expectations are able to cope-up with them and fall behind, while
the rest achieve above and beyond becoming huge success. In the 1960s a 'C' was considered
good, and accepted easily, while today nothing lower than a B minus is accepted. All those
who aren't able to achieve these grades are perceived as lazy.

Evaluation of Sources:
The secondary sources used in this report consist of government statistic websites, online
business magazines, and professional research organizations. No blogs were used.
The primary sources used in this report are of my personal observations or conversations I've
had with people on this topic.

Conclusion and Reflection:

Overall it is true that more is expected out of today’s youth, but colleges/firms aren’t wrong
in expecting more. Since the amount of competition between people has increased, along
with the technological advances and advances in education it is invertible that standards will
be raised higher. Writing this essay was most definitely a learning process. In the beginning I
felt that it was not right for colleges/firms to expect more out of millennials just because one
out of five millennials turn out to be very successful at a young age. As I learned about the
different causes of this issue, and how millennials around the world deal with this issue, I have
realized that millennials have no choice but to work hard if they want to be happy and
successful in their careers.

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC
 

Bibliography
Alton, Larry. “Millennials Are Struggling To Get Jobs - Here's Why, And What To Do About
It.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 22 Dec. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/larryalton/2016/12/22/
millennials-are-struggling-to-get-jobs-heres-why-and-what-to-do-about-it/#2fc6ddea4bb0.
Flintoff, Corey. “In India, The Pressure Cooker Of College Admissions.” NPR, NPR, 10 Jan.
2012, www.npr.org/2012/01/10/144902774/in-india-the-pressure-cooker-of-college-
admissions. “United States Youth Unemployment Rate | 1955-2018 | Data | Chart |
Calendar.” Haiti Exports | 2008-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast | News,
tradingeconomics.com/united-states/youth-unemployment-rate. Urist, Jacoba. “Is College
Really Harder to Get Into Than It Used To Be?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4
Apr. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/04/is-college-really-harder-to-get-
into-than-it-used-to-be/360114/. “Why College Admission Rates Get Lower and Lower |
Admission Statistics.” Ivy Coach, 18 Oct. 2017, www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/
college-admissions/college-admission-rates-get-lower-lower/.

1: PEOPLE BORN BETWEEN 1980-200

2: QUOTE FROM RONALD BROWN STEIN’S ARTICLE IN THE ATLANTIC