Application season starts the second you leave 11th grade. Senior summers are consumed by activity lists, college essays, common applications, and stressing over where they could get in. The UC applications opened the first of August, and surprisingly most students get right to it even though applications aren’t due until November. Early-action students will hear back from colleges as soon as December or January. However, early action applications are not the norm. Most seniors will wait until the last second to begin writing essays and filling out forms. Unfortunately, this causes a ton of unnecessary stress.
As applications encroach, we see more and more kids beginning to stress over where they should apply or where they could get in. Adults will tell us, “This isn’t even the hard part, deciding where to go once you get your acceptance is much harder.” Either way, most seniors function under the idea that senior year is relaxed. In reality, it is not. Most seniors will keep up with their APs and honors, while still trying to juggle their applications. “I’m taking three AP courses and I don’t have a single free period,” Says one GHS senior. Depending on what schools you apply to there are a number of essays, letters of recommendation, grade inputs, and activity lists that need to be completed, on top of your necessary class load.
Ava Hepner, an LHS senior says, “I didn’t know that the UC application had opened, and when I found out a few days later I panicked and tried to do most of the application.” Most students still don’t know that applications are available. Can you imagine how many students leave their applications to the last second?
Stress levels skyrocket during application season. Most students don’t have access to a college counselor besides the school counselors who help us decide on our high school classes. “I wish that I had hired a college counselor, I think it would have helped me to stay on track,” says the same LHS student. On the other hand, a current GHS student says, “Personally, I don’t think that my college counselor does anything besides stress me out, she causes me to freak out about deadlines which in my case causes more procrastination.”
So what’s our solution? If not having a college counselor causes stress, and hiring one causes stress and procrastination, what are we supposed to do? The reality is that applications are going to be stressful and time-consuming. It isn’t absolutely necessary to have a counselor, but it depends on your personal learning style. “For many families [hiring a counselor] is worth it” (prepory.com). Regardless of other people’s experiences, a counselor is not always affordable, or accessible. The best thing to do is to plan out your time. Take as much time as you need on your applications, and “If you’re a junior I would suggest that you start preparing yourself now to make the process easier next year,” says Ava Hepner. Even though it may seem early, get started ASAP!
