By Lux Sheplee, Staff Writer
School is in full swing and the first quarter is officially more than half way through. River Hill seniors are juggling their coursework, extracurriculars and the added task of college applications. While some students began their applications during summer and utilized their time before school, others have fallen behind and struggle to find time to cram in their last supplemental essays.
Different students apply to various numbers of colleges. Ian Tran is applying to five or six colleges because he wants to keep his applications manageable in the time he has before the November 1st deadlines. In contrast, regarding the amount of college applications she will complete, Mahnoor Rao comments, “as of right now I’m not one hundred percent sure, but not too many, maybe like 10-15.”
Mahnoor’s level of stress may be greatly increased by the fact that she is “not very far along in the process.” She describes, “I have to finish up the common app questions, my essay is in the rough draft stage, and I haven’t looked at most of the supplements.” Although Evan Langnas is applying to 14 colleges, he has been able to stick to a schedule and describes, “I’m about seventy five percent of the way through.” When applying to a significant number of colleges, it is important to pace yourself to avoid jamming everything at the last minute.
When thinking about applying to colleges, there are a variety of reasons why an individual may choose a certain school. For example, Olivia Bos states, “I’m applying to mostly southern schools because I hate the cold and I want to go somewhere warmer.” Climate can play an important role, and so can the programs the school offers. Ian comments, “my top choice is Johns Hopkins University because it’s a top 10 school and has an excellent computer engineering program.” Mahnoor explains, “my top choice, which I’m never gonna get into, is probably Brown. It’s the highest ranking college I’m applying to, so you know clout.”
Other people, like Evan, don’t have a specific college in mind. “I want to major in psychology pre-med, but I have no idea where I want to go,” he comments. Some people have clear cut paths, and others are more up in the air when it comes to their decisions. Mahnoor describes her eagerness to a double major: “Ideally I’d like to double major in biology and political science, or a different social science.”
College application season is here, and seniors are in various stages of progress. The first deadline for most early action applications is November 1st, which is quickly approaching. Supplemental essays vary from school to school, but when applying to a larger number of schools they can really pile up. Evan describes having completed around 20 supplemental essays for his 14 applications. Whether you’re applying early or regular decision, make sure to get a good jump on your applications when it comes time to apply for colleges.