by Lauren Dame, Video Story Editor
The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
As the “Early Action” submission deadline passes, the reality of choosing the next chapter of seniors’ life begins to hit. Preparing the Common App is just another thing during the fall season that seniors with a desire to attend college are working towards aside from their day-to-day school work and responsibilities. Some might feel that the college application season is a stressful time, while others have had their applications submitted for months.
The most time-consuming part of applying to colleges is crafting the perfect essay to display to colleges. This ultimately will reveal to admissions what a student has to say about their growth and how well they can write.
English teacher Mrs. Cunningham works closely with students to help them edit their college essays. Cunningham explains that she “think[s] that all of the common app questions are asking just about the same thing... ‘What is the ‘thing’ that you want us to know about you?’” This simple question paves the way for most seniors when writing their essay. What seniors can sum up in around 600 words will be exactly what the college will take away from the student.
The final essay sent to the school often succeeds in displaying the student, however the process of writing it can be overwhelming. Hibo Mohamed (12) says that the most difficult part in applying is “how in-your-face it is, especially when it comes to telling [a student] to write [their] college essay.” What many seniors might have noticed in writing their essays is that there’s a standard way of answering one of the prompted questions. Cunningham explains that “an oversimplified formula would be to spend four or five sentences telling what that "thing" is, another paragraph exploring it, and then a few closing sentences, always ending on a positive note.” Standing out in your college essay is one of the most competitive parts of getting into the school.
As most colleges are now test-optional with submitting both SAT and ACT scores, a lot of colleges still value the ones sent. The confusion in actually sending test scores to the school is what college counselor Tom Woodford says he’s “losing sleep over.” Woodford expresses that it is “important that if students are applying with test scores, that they have to send the test scores from the testing agency, either from the College Board or from ACT to that college.” Seniors having a really good test score won’t even matter if they can’t get that score to the college the right way.
Once hearing back from colleges on their admission answer, the next step is choosing which college will suit the student best. For a lot of students, it comes down to location and tuition cost. Grace Markusic (12) says that “the most difficult thing in the process is going through all the decisions.” She adds, ”how far do I want to be away from home? What do I really want my major to be? How much do I really want to be in debt?” Woodford has been through this process with seniors for many years. He offers that “it comes down to [choosing] a place that's a good fit for you that has the program that fits you.” A big decision for 18-year-olds, albeit.
The overwhelming choice of where to further your education is also a big opportunity to learn what each place has to offer. Carly Love (12) explains that they’re “most excited to visit the colleges [she] gets accepted into and to pick the one.” Visiting the campus is one of the top ways to decide if the college is the place for a student. Getting a feel for the environment is a great tell in how you feel about the campus. Cunningham offers her input, however, and she says her “best advice would be to make sure the college you choose offers the program you wish to pursue.” She’s sure to mention that ”location and environment all matter, but getting a useful degree in a fulfilling field is what matters most.” Selecting what community will offer you the most in what you’re wishing to further will help greatly.
While the first semester of seniors’ last year in high school is full of considering the future, the second semester is said to be more lenient on the student. While it may be difficult in the process of choosing what to do with the next years of the student’s life, it’s important to enjoy the time that’s left. College decisions are important, but so is a senior’s well-being.