College Applications Taking Senior Year

It’s widely known that the college process causes a very large amount of strain on seniors. The average 12th grader needs to do many things within the span of a few months. At the forefront is the college applications themselves; each application takes a very large amount of time and effort. The easiest application for many Dana students (the CalState) can take hours just to fill out, and it doesn’t have essays or achievements sections which usually take the longest.

An average application that includes those sections can take a literal day’s worth of time. In addition to college applications themselves, students must also spend days studying for and taking standardized tests, working on the FAFSA, and applying for scholarships.

Seniors need to do all of these things on top of their school and homework. Many seniors are already busy with work, sports, or both, then the massive college application process is added to the mix.

With all of this in consideration, it’s clear that a senior’s high school experience is encumbered by the stress from the college application. However, that doesn’t mean change is necessary.

There are positives to the strenuous applications. Juggling all of senior year’s challenges teaches time management and work ethic, and gives skills that can be used in the future.; Similar to the application, being an adult requires filling out countless papers and documents, building resumes, and occasionally dealing with excessive stress.

If a student is too overwhelmed, there are also services that help with college applications within Dana for free.

It’s obvious that the college process causes strain on seniors, however, this shouldn’t warrant a change in school curriculum or the application process itself. The process teaches seniors important skills, and there are both in school and out of school resources to help them out.