Whoever said that senior year was the easiest year of high school
lied straight through their teeth. Whether you take an easy class load or a difficult one your final year, no stress is greater than the stress of college applications. Simple applications consume time you do not have and one mistake can cost you your entire future.
College has always been my goal. Different aspects of it have changed dramatically, and because of those changes, I’ve had to make major adjustments to my college hunt. I’ve played fastpitch softball since I was four years old and I believed it was something that I wanted to pursue in college as well. But dreams change, scholarship offers get taken off the table and suddenly, I started to feel the pressure to get accepted to a college just like every other normal student.
1. You’ll find out quickly in high school where you fall on the academic spectrum. Yes, colleges would love for every student who applies to have a perfect GPA and for every single one to have a perfect SAT score too. But it doesn’t happen. In fact, very few students actually achieve the difficult task of either one, let alone both. Colleges like students who are smart because, fun fact, you’re actually going to college to get smarter and finally be involved in what you want to do in life.
My problem in high school has been that I was always the kid who got all A’s and one B every single year. And though I took multiple honors and AP level classes, those B’s start to add up and quickly I became labeled if I was not as smart as my peers, and colleges “don’t want people who aren’t at the top of their class.”
If you were to compare my SAT scores to my GPA, you’d think you were looking at two different people. Some people are better standardized test takers, others rely simply on their GPA and course load. It’s important to find out which one you are so that you can highlight that strength.
2. College applications are one of the most stressful procedures a teenager will have to go through. Selecting a college to apply to is a big decision. It requires thought about the program you want to enroll in, the location of the school, the cost of the school, as well as where you can get accepted based on your academic performance. Not to mention, the tough decision of what happens if you don’t get accepted to the school of your dreams.
I have unrealistic ambitions to go to schools out of state, not to mention, private schools. And when you hear the word “private” when associated with college, it basically means money. Money which I do not have and money that I’ve worked my entire life to receive from someone else. It’s important to know that there are ways to get around the expensive application fees and there are thousands of scholarship opportunities if you’re willing to work for them.
3. Hard work is all this process is about. Finding time in your day to work on an application and trying to picture your future are both hard and scary things. It’s difficult for us as teenagers to imagine ourselves in ten to fifteen years. And it may feel like we have to know every step of the way right now, but we don’t. I promise you that you will make it through, just like I will one day walk the campus of one of my top five schools. It’s just a matter of when and where it’ll take place. But I believe in you, and you should believe in yourself too.
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