Students are relieved after finishing college applications.
Student types an essay for a college application.
January 31, 2014
Tracy High seniors have let out a sigh of relief after turning in all college applications during the beginning of January. All public college deadlines were due Nov. 31, and some private college deadlines were Jan. 13.
“I am so glad college applications are done,” senior Rana Khan said. “It feels like there isn’t as much stress anymore besides keeping up with school.”
After submitting applications, students have to send in official scores for SAT/ACT, SAT subject tests, AP (Advanced Placement), and IB (International Baccalaureate). This is only part of the multiple steps of getting into college.
If a college is interested in a student, it will request the student to send in a transcript with all four years of their high school grades.
“I was so nervous,” senior Brenda Lopez said. “The pressure really gets to you because you have been told that you can’t mess up at all, and you want to show the college that you are the best candidate for them.”
Many students said they were under stress during the application process and felt pressure to meet deadlines.
“I started writing my UC and Common app essay for the application during summer,” Lopez said. “I had it read multiple times by my English teachers, family members, and peers. It needed to be perfect, the essay was the one personal thing that the application asked about and it was not easy.”
Students have been receiving notices from the colleges from November, it depends on whether students did early response or not, but some schools send out their responses earlier than others.
“I applied to a total of seven schools, all in state,” Khan said.
There was an average of 8.2 million applicants that applied to United States colleges in the past year as stated on the US News website. There are many students who have applied to more schools and also applied out of state.
“From past experiences, I know how overwhelming college applications seem to be,” counselor Gloria Miller said. “It seems that everything is due around the same time, college applications, test scores, and grades, but it gets easier after it’s done.”
Students are now working on scholarships and financial aid. Colleges are getting costlier. Not everyone can pay for college, and many students are already working to save money and applying to as many scholarships and financial aid help they can get. College Board released reports in 2009 that the average cost for a bachelor degree per year is about $25,143 for a private college and about $6,585 for a public college/university.