It’s college application season, and for a lot of seniors, the pressure is on. Between grades, essays, and just waiting to hear back, it’s a stressful time.
Senior Zayd Cartagena is busy with Student Council and other clubs. Even with all his experience, he finds the application process frustrating.
“The applications have such small word counts,” he said. “I had to cut a lot out, and I’m worried they won’t really see everything I did.”
For other students, the stress is all about grades. Senior Jack Grunske picked his classes with college in mind.
“I definitely chose my AP classes to make my application look better,” he said. “Getting into college is the first goal.”
Now that his applications are in, he’s just worried it wasn’t enough. “I put in all this work. I’m stressed that it might not pay off,” Grunske said.
Other students are wondering if all the work is even worth it. Senior David Acamovic sees his friends who took easier classes and seems way more relaxed.
“I look at my friends who aren’t taking all APs and they just seem less stressed,” he said. “I was up late studying a lot, and I would wonder why I’m even doing it.”
And for a lot of students, finishing the applications doesn’t mean the stress is over.
“You think you’ll feel better once you apply, but I just feel more stressed,” Acamovic said.
Senior Giselle Paszkiewicz, who applied to colleges early, tried to keep her school life and sports life separate to manage the pressure.
“When I am playing sports, I am a leader/captain, and that is separate from school,” she said.
Even with that balance, she felt the pressure of being reduced to a few hundred words. “I was worried about how a 300-word or so essay can truly represent me.”
It’s clear that for seniors, the path to college is filled with a lot of anxiety and second-guessing, and everyone is just trying to get through it.
