By Abigail Chai, Staff Writer
As finals season approaches, seniors begin to wrap up their final college applications, some even already submitting theirs. Once students send off their months-long work to their colleges of choice, there’s no going back and all they can do is wait, hopeful for the results that will come their way in months time. The stress over college essays, transcripts, and the overall perfecting of applications is seemingly coming to an end, allowing seniors to look back at the past months and reflect at the grueling, lengthy process. It’s no secret that this was a strenuous period of time for a majority of seniors nationwide, undoubtedly taking some sort of toll on their health, especially mentally.
Colleges have been particularly competitive this year due to increased college applicants, resulting in a decrease of acceptances. In just UCs alone this year, arguably one of the more popular choices among Mills students, the admission rate fell from 64.9% (in 2021) to 59.5% this year. There’s been added pressure to seniors this year to stand out significantly more than their peers and other students nationwide.
During the demanding process of applications, seniors had to consider several factors while going through the application course that could potentially make or break their admission decisions. Seniors had to start their work months in advance, some even starting as early as the summer. Senior, Ryan Situ, started writing his essays at the beginning of the summer, as he was worried about having to balance his school work and college applications simultaneously in the coming fall. However, despite his early start, he still underwent high levels of stress, much of his worry stemming from how his essays would represent him. He states, “I really had to reflect upon myself and how to present myself to all these institutes.” Another senior, Bruce Nie, also shared that essays were the most stressful aspect of applications, which seems to be a common agreement among seniors each year.
It’s also preodminantly crucial for students to assess different colleges/universities to their own personal interests and dislikes, which could also potentially benefit them most in the future. Bruce Nie shared that he preferred top colleges in large cities rather than those which were more in isolated areas, which ultimately affected his application decisions. On the contrary, Ryan applied to colleges because of the educational programs that their campuses offered for majors he was interested in, specifically business and computer science. While both students’ criteria for schools are drastically different, they’re both selecting colleges and universities to standards that would suit them best.
What is already an extremely stressful time for seniors, isn’t made any easier by the application system itself. The system has a multitude of flaws, some of which can be easy fixes that would relieve some of the stress that seniors undergo. Both interviewees shared their own complaints about the process, which were both equally valid criticisms. Ryan mentioned that applying to schools is a bit pricey, which can also be seen as a disadvantage to certain financially challenged applicants. Putting high prices on applications closes opportunities for seniors across the country, as some are unable to afford these hefty fees. Unfortunately, this problem is just one of the many that application season brings forth to putting students at unfair disadvantages/advantages.
Both seniors have currently submitted a majority of their applications, bringing a sense of relief over them as they now have one less thing to worry about. As of now, they no longer have to put up with the irritating tasks of college applications and instead can shift their focus onto their finals. Bruce shared that he didn’t want to worry anymore about applications saying, “There’s no more going back and I can’t change what’s on my applications. Whatever happens afterwards, happens.”
