Latest:

features 

“Please Help!”: College Application Process Causes Stress For Seniors

admin
Senior Nick Austin fills out his FAFSA form. "The process is pretty tedious. It s a lot better when you can just use the Common Application for several schools, but some schools still don't take it. It's annoying to spend hours putting the dame information to each school individually," said Lucchesi.
Senior Nick Austin fills out his FAFSA form. “The process is pretty tedious. It s a lot better when you can just use the Common Application for several schools, but some schools still don’t take it. It’s annoying to spend hours putting the dame information to each school individually,” said Lucchesi.

Getting into college is a very long, hard, and at times, annoying process. Many believe getting into college doesn’t come with much work, but seniors of Parkway North would probably disagree.

An important and maybe the most important part of the application process, is finding a school that fits the applicant best.

“While in the process of choosing the college or university you’re applying to, it is important to think about if you could see yourself there for the next four to five years,”  senior Spencer Goldberg said.

Colleges help a student  live, learn, and grow for the next few years and that is why it is so important to find the right school.

“If students just slow down and really look into schools, the process can be pretty easy,” said counselor Christy Wills.

Getting into college comes with applications. Those applications have deadlines, and with deadlines, more stress is piled on the students. Along with those applications, each student needs to gather recommendations, write a resume, and write an essay if the college requires it.

“It is very important to write up a resume with things you have done over the years, whether that be in or out of school,” said senior Nick Austin.

Resumes are looked over by the admission of colleges, and for some, who may not have the best ACT score or GPA, they may still get considered because of the things they have done for the community and how active they are. A good resume that colleges will like to see include one filled with community services actives, leadership roles, and awards the applicant has received over the years.

“It would be a good idea to write down awards and extracellular activities each year and to start early, so that you have a good list to create a strong resume with,” said Wills.

Along with a strong resume, another great way for colleges to get a sense of who you are is to ask for teacher recommendations. Recommendations are great to have, but on the other hand, a lot of schools won’t even require them. While going through the application process, it would be smart for students to get a sense of whether or not a school wants letters of recommendation, and if not the applicant shouldn’t have to stress about getting those done.

“Recommendations can be of great help, but are really only needed for highly selective schools such as Harvard or Stanford,” said Wills.

While gathering all of these materials, it is also important for the applicant to be aware of deadlines they will need to meet in order to be considered at a school.

“It is good to start early because it is stressful to try and balance school work with the applications process,” said senior Chris Lucchesi.

Many high school students stress about where they might go to college, or even getting in. But, with good preparation and knowledge about the process of applying to college, students can make  things so much easier. The process of choosing and applying to colleges will definitely come with its struggles, but if students are to follow the steps of those who have been through the process before, they will be just fine.

by Jayme Bertish, staff writer