For high school seniors, the college application process can be an exciting but also stressful time. Between making important decisions about their future, hearing advice from others, and figuring out where exactly they want to go, many students feel overwhelmed by the uncertainty of what comes next. As seniors work through their college applications and consider their options, the pressure to make the right decision about next year can be increasingly difficult to manage.
The first two weeks of November mark the deadline for early action and early decision applications across the country. This short window of time also coincides with the end of the first quarter of their final year in high school.
Guidance Director John Fiorito understands how hearing constant opinions about the college application process can add to a student’s stress. “My most important advice always with most kids is that it’s truly your individual choice. It’s hard to shut off the noise sometimes of classmates and adults and family, and different people who are, a lot of times, trying to be helpful. Nobody means ill will, but maybe hearing all this noise — it can make kids question if what they believe is wrong,” he said.
Strategies to manage this stress vary by person:Some overcome it by getting a head start on their workload, while others try to focus on one application at a time.
Senior Nala Pitman said she wishes she had gotten an earlier start on college applications, but it’s been difficult to get ahead with so much going on this time of year. “I would probably want to start it in August, but I started in November,” she said.
Senior Maddie Crowell said, “I feel like we have lots of decisions that we have to make coming up, and it’s stressful not knowing what my future will look like, I guess.”
“You’re going to do the best you can, and it’s an important decision, but it is not the most important decision in your life,” said Mr. Fiorito.
While time management can be valuable in preventing excess stress, staying positive is just as important. Senior Diego Valentim said, “Everything will work itself out even if you don’t get into your top choice. Just be hopeful, you know? Your future’s going to be fine if you don’t get into your dream college or not. Just be hopeful.”
