College Application Process: To Each Their Own

This year is like every other. Millions of high school seniors across the country are in a frenzy as they build a college list, fill out the Common Application, write supplemental essays, decide whether or not to submit test scores, and the list goes on and on. For the most part, the necessary tasks are the same for each student. Everyone fills out the Common Application, the Coalition Application, or some other generic application. Every student crafts the best version of themselves as they fill out the activities section, write essays, and so on.

But despite the similarities, many students look to tailor their college application process to fit their needs. For example, Eva Harshman, editor-in-chief of The Central Trend, states that high school senior Ashley Schneck is only applying to two colleges “despite her many AP classes, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities.” She chose to only apply to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. She “really like[d] the campuses and how they are both in-state.” She also liked the variety of majors available. Harshman also discuses high school senior Lucy Wu’s application process. Lucy is applying to over 15 colleges, ranging from schools with high acceptance rates to Ivy League institutions. Her main reason for this is that she doesn’t plan on going to graduate school. Given that she is only doing the application process once in her life, she wants to take all her options into consideration. Yet, despite her eagerness to apply to so many top-tier colleges in hopes of getting admitted into at least one of them, she says that “whether you graduate from community college or Princeton, everyone has a shot at success.”

As a senior who has 20 schools on the Common Application, most of them being target schools, I am in awe of how people can narrow down to a single-digit number of schools. Yet, despite being near the end of the college application process with only a month and a half to go, I still don’t know why I chose to apply to so many schools. Maybe the reason is that I don’t know whether I want to study in a city or a suburban environment. Maybe I’m not sure whether I want to study engineering in a technical school or a liberal arts school. Perhaps the only factor that I really narrowed down is that I want to be within driving distance from home, and I want to study engineering.

When I talk to others, I find out that each person’s application process is a bit different. There are certainly overlaps in college lists, but some people are willing to travel across the country to college, while others want to be within driving distance. Some people have already gotten accepted into colleges, while the rest of us will wait until mid-December to receive our first decision. Despite each person’s unique college application process, we all have the same goal: to get a well-rounded, immersive education and be prepared for the workforce once we complete our degree. In the end, we all want to be successful and when we are, it won’t matter how we navigate the chaotic admissions process. As long as we each do what’s right for us, we will all be able to carve our own dream futures.

Works Cited:

guide, step. “How to Apply for College

Timeline, Templates & Checklist.” Scribbr, 18 October 2021, https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/applying-for-college/. Accessed 11 November 2023.

Harshman, Eva. “The class of 2024 passionately takes their first steps into the college application process.” The Central Trend, 9 November 2023, https://thecentraltrend.com/142342/showcase/the-class-of-2024-passionately-takes-their-first-steps-into-the-college-application-process/. Accessed 11 November 2023.