Orange County School of Academic Pressure
Brie Samaniego and Dash Kaur
OCSA has long been known for its excellence, with it being consistently ranked as the state’s number one charter school by Niche. The school prides itself on providing a well-rounded education for its students, with 80 percent of OCSA students taking AP classes and many graduates going to prestigious universities.
Because of OCSA’s unique schedule, students must learn how to balance a large workload consisting of academics, conservatory, and extracurriculars. As a result, we are surrounded by students that constantly push themselves to be the best of the best, and do so very openly. While this isn’t something that is inherently bad, it can distort people's sense of accomplishment and create a toxic mindset. One student said they feel like “everyone around me seems to be doing great in their classes” so they feel additional pressure. We are not the first to point out that students feel pressured to excel in school, but the environment at OCSA can create an even more stressful experience due to the model of the school.
Ironically, some students believe that OCSA seems to be more academically focused than art focused. Atianah Rodgers (CAH ‘24) stated that “we are given this brand as an arts school,” meaning this “brand” can lead to people feeling they need to meet higher standards than found at a typical public school. The “brand” is also upheld by the students through our regular discussion about academics. OCSA students have a tendency to divert conversation to questions like “Did you do your homework? Did you study for the test? Did you finish your essay?” said Rodgers. It is almost as if this is a default topic many students revert to when there is a lull in the conversation.
A positive that comes from OCSA students’ packed schedules is that teachers may be more understanding and accommodate homework and deadlines for extracurriculars. For example, if you are in tech week for a show, it is fairly normal for that to be a valid excuse for an extension on an assignment.
Generally speaking, middle schoolers and freshmen coming to OCSA acknowledge the advanced academics here but never imagine OCSA to be this rigorous and stress inducing. We all made the decision to come here when we were 12-14 years old, but it is unrealistic to expect a student of that age to fully understand OCSA’s academic pressure.
At OCSA, the key to success is time management. Hugo Nguyen (PM ‘24) thinks “it’s really just a matter of balancing your time.” In order to handle tasks like homework, shows, conservatory and volunteer work, students must make a productive schedule that works for them and stick by it. But this is a difficult skill to learn, do effectively, and upkeep, so when a student may fall behind, it is overwhelming to get caught up.
Yet there are ways to avoid the pressure. Surrounding yourself with students with ambitious mindsets will cause you to unconsciously adopt their academic way of thinking. On the other hand, if you develop friendships with students who are not as determined, the pressure of school will lessen since you are not constantly surrounded by it.
Without a doubt, the OCSA attitude is that doing more is better; despite this, you are always able to choose a schedule that is less painstaking by dropping that AP or not performing in a show for the semester.
Even with this, the academic pressure at OCSA will never be easy. It is important to be kind to your mind and body to be successful here, but we often forget it. We deserve to acknowledge our achievements rather than focus on things we did not succeed in. At the end of the day, we all have fulfilled much to be proud of.