Essays. Superscores. Common App. It is that time of year where seniors are applying to colleges, and deadlines are right around the corner. The demands of standardized tests, college applications and maintaining good grades can be stressful, not to mention the anxious waiting for acceptance letters.
Applying to colleges while juggling the responsibilities of high school is no easy feat. Aaron Tan, a senior at Quince Orchard, is “quite a bit” stressed about the process.
“I have to fit [college applications] into my own schedule with school and my own personal life,” Tan said.
QO senior Sabrina Chowdhury, who is applying to nine or ten colleges mostly in the DMV area, agrees.
“My stress fluctuates depending [on] how much work I have to do related to college apps,” Chowdhury said. “So if I have a lot of homework plus a bunch of other stuff to do with college apps, my stress level [is] really high.”
Luckily, Chowdhury has already sent in the application to her top school, University of Maryland College Park (a popular choice among teens in the area), to meet the November 1 Early Action deadline.
To help reduce the stress that inevitably accompanies the college process, there are plenty of resources including CollegeTracks (a non-profit organization designed to help students complete their applications and FAFSA), the College and Career Center and school counselors.
“I rely a lot on my friends, specifically friends that have graduated,” Tan added. “I’ve also visited my counselor a lot more often.”
Additionally, family also plays a role in helping with the college process. QO senior Jake Wales, applied Early Decision to University of Virginia and had the support of his family when applying.
“My family’s helped me with writing my essay,” Wales said. “My mom and I worked on and edited [my essays] together.”
For Wales, the deadlines were the most daunting, but there were a select few seniors who did not experience this stress at all. QO Senior Catherine Belyakov, a two-time state champion swimmer, committed to Duke University in February of her junior year.
“I don’t have to worry about decisions; I got my acceptance letter, and everyone else is going to get their’s way later,” Belyakov said. “I’m not stressed at all; I’m already in.”
Duke, which accepts a mere 10.8 percent of applicants, is highly competitive.
“It’s a school I couldn’t have gotten into with my grades, but I used my swimming to get in,” Belyakov added.
Additionally, QO senior Alex Halber, who applied to some schools in Maryland including Washington College and Mount St. Mary’s University, is already accepted into Montgomery College.
Wherever we will all be in the fall of next year, college applications are currently on most seniors’ minds.
Article by Zoe Bell of Quince Orchard High School
Graphic by Jillian Wimbush of Richard Montgomery High School