Apply, wait and decide. These are the three phases of college admissions for the typical high school senior.
Waiting to hear from colleges is probably the longest, most agonizing wait of your adolescent life, and opening up that thin, pale envelope may be the best or worst feeling in the world.
Many high -schoolers apply Early Action to many schools in order to get the stress of college applications out of the way, but the hard thing about Early Action is that students may become discouraged if they receive that white envelope with the D word—not deny, but deferred.
When I was deferred from the two Early Action schools I applied to, my life became an emotional wreck. I truly believed that this was the end, and I was going to be denied four months later. I was ultimately wrong, realizing that being deferred is not the end of the world and surely does not be you’re denied.
There are some main flaws to the college acceptance system; I believe a major one is the concept of the “Wait list.” Schools can make a student wait until early June or later before they notify you about your acceptance, forcing you to put down a deposit for another school.
Students are forced to possibly pay more money in hopes they get into their dream school. This gives one less time to find a roommate and a place to live.
I think colleges should strive to end the wait list because doing so would ease the minds of eager students and it would not force one to wait four more months and $500 later to hear from a school.
I believe high school seniors today are pressured and intimidated by college than ever before.
Every time I open Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, I always see the same post, “Happy to announce I will be attending *insert college name here* next fall!” Everyone wants to share their acceptance with their friends and family, but it also puts equal pressure on the students who haven’t been accepted. Everyone wants that shining celebratory moment when they get accepted into college, but social media has put unnecessary pressure other applicants awaiting to hear from their schools.
Though the process sounds very intimidating, being accepted into any school is a great feeling and is a celebration of your academic success. My advice to rising seniors is to prepare yourselves for a possible emotional rollercoaster and remember: there is a school for everyone.