For the seniors choosing to attend a four-year university, the stressful college countdown clock just keeps ticking as the school year progresses. The Wolf interviewed seniors Ben Nickle and Helayna Sy regarding their application process, stress levels and tips for upcoming seniors or those who still have to complete applications. 

How has the college application process gone for you? Was it confusing or complicated? 

Nickle: Overall, I’d say it was more tedious than complicated. There was a lot of filling out the same information over and over. I’m also lucky that my parents—in particular, my mom—researched some stuff about the college application process during my junior year, so I didn’t need to figure out what I was doing alone.

What was the most stressful part of completing college applications?

Sy: The most stressful part of the application was finishing my personal statement. I had so many different pieces of my identity that I wanted to include, but the word count limited my exploration to focus on a specific event. 

Have you applied to any schools early action? If so, did completing these college applications early help reduce stress?

Nickle: Yeah, I applied to most of my college choices early action. It doesn’t reduce stress so much as front load it. You get to be extra stressed in September and October so you don’t need to worry about as much for the rest of the year. If someone is considering early action, I’d highly recommend starting on the application in the summer (especially the essay) so that they have enough time to complete everything and not be overly stressed. I had most of the common app done before school started, which made applying to colleges significantly less stressful.
How do you stay on top of all the deadlines?

Sy: To stay on top of all of the deadlines, I made a Google sheet to organize all of the colleges I was applying to and listed their deadlines and requirements. I also had the Common App tab open on my laptop to make sure I never missed a deadline and to remind me to work on supplemental essays. 

Do you have any recommendations, so far, for the upcoming seniors as they begin to think about college? 

Nickle: Your major ultimately matters much more than the college you choose to go to. Don’t stress about going to the top or most prestigious college; the reality is that you’ll learn mostly the same thing regardless of your major. What matters the most, then, is picking something you want to study and are willing to work to excel at. 

My second piece of advice is to not be overly wordy in your college essay. Every other applicant also has access to a thesaurus, and replacing “fun” with “merriment” is going to make the college admissions officers think that you aren’t confident in your own writing and are insecure about trying to sound smart.

Sy: I would recommend starting your personal statement during the summer if you have time. I know it sounds tedious, but even creating an outline is so helpful and a relief when you begin writing.