Many people consider the beginning of November as the start of the holiday season, as Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. However, ‘tis the season for more than just holidays. It’s time for college apps.
With the University of California (UC) and Cal State applications due on Nov. 30, Carlmont seniors are industriously working on their resumes. Moreover, colleges such as Stanford University and the University of Washington held sooner deadlines in October and November than the UC schools and had students complete their forms even earlier.
To manage the critical deadlines, seniors have worked on their applications for months and are doing their best to avoid procrastination. The application process can be very time consuming and often incorporates itself into seniors’ everyday lives.
“Since I started my college apps fairly early, it has been easy for me to manage my time working on them. For me, at least, working on college apps has been just like another part of my day. I usually spend at least two hours a day on them,” Maxi Guillermo, a senior, said. “However, sometimes it can be challenging balancing school, work, friends, extra-curriculars, and college apps all in one day.”
Despite steadily working on them, some seniors wish they had begun their application process even sooner. Antara Sengupta, a senior, suffered a concussion in September and was unable to work on applications for the month, making the process more difficult for her today.
“I did work on applications over the summer but didn’t put as much work into it during late-August and September when school started. After getting a concussion, I physically was incapable of doing my work and had to rush last minute to finish applications due in early November,” Sengupta said. “I wish I had distributed my work on college apps more evenly at the beginning of the school year when I was physically able to complete them, so I would have less pressure to finish them before the deadlines.”
Not only are UC apps and Cal State apps due soon, but dozens of schools have upcoming January applications. And, even though they have more time to work before the deadline, students are exercising caution and trying to prevent themselves from taking the later date for granted.
“Even though I feel I am a bit ahead in the process, I still feel anxiety. Because the deadline is far away, I am afraid I might let it fly over my head, which is why I try to complete parts of it every day,” said Shuaib Khan, a senior who is working towards the Jan. 15 Air Force Academy deadline.
The pressure of deadlines has motivated seniors to triage their daily responsibilities and often elect to work on applications over other tasks.
“I prioritize my college apps above everything else. If I have a deadline coming up, I will focus on my college apps over schoolwork or homework,” Sengupta said.
Some universities have options for early decision or action, such as University of Colorado Boulder. CU Boulder has an early action application due on Nov. 15 and regular decision Jan. 15. When applying to colleges, some students can benefit from the early action or decision options, as they will know their acceptance status earlier than if they apply regular decision.
And, because so many factors go into college apps, students are struggling to figure out how to best present themselves to admissions officers.
“Application for UCs and CSUs require fewer things and are arguably easier than other universities, as most other colleges can require a portfolio, a resume, personal essays, interviews, and letters of recommendation,” Guillermo said. “However, trying to perfect my Personal Insight Questions has been very stressful since they are my only opportunity to express myself outside of grades and test scores.”
Yet, throughout the process, seniors are maintaining an optimistic outlook and resolve to know that they can be satisfied with whatever happens.
“Although I am applying to more in state schools, I am also applying to a good amount of out of state schools because I want to keep my options open,” Sengupta said. “There are a lot of really good universities both in and out of California that I am interested in and would love to attend.”
