Seniors are currently busy with the college application process. There are various deadlines that need to be met throughout the school year.
During senior year of high school, the college application process can be challenging. Having to balance homework, other responsibilities, and college applications can be a lot. Senior Brian Santiago said, “I’m feeling a bit less overwhelmed now because I was able to get my CUNY and SUNY application done.”
Veronica Tavares, also a senior said, “I am still feeling overwhelmed due to the college process but not as much as before. Now that decision letters are coming in I need to decide where I want to go for college which is a big deal. The price of college is very expensive which is another thing I am worried about. So, I am looking for scholarships at the moment and finished the rest of my application. There is never a rest with the application process.”
Seniors have already completed their CUNY and SUNY applications and are currently in the process of finalizing their schools on Common App. Other financial aid applications such as FAFSA, TAP and CSS must be completed. This helps students pay for the expenses of college. Santiago said, “At first, you’ll get overwhelmed and stressed when you have to do certain criteria for certain schools but when you get everything submitted it’s a stress reliever.”
Students have already begun to receive acceptance letters from colleges but they have until May 1st, National Decision Day, to make a decision if they applied for regular decision or early action.
Current Pace seniors started working on their college application process during the second semester of their junior year with the school’s college counselor, Ms. Burke. There have been various events for students to attend such as college fairs and tours to help get an idea of colleges they might want to add to their list and go to in the future. Students have also been encouraged to visit schools on their own to discover what they want in a college.
Over the summer some students participated in programs to explore career opportunities or get a head start with the college application process, tour colleges, and build their resumes. 12th grader Marqkuis Philip said, “I went to a few college tours and I interned at one college, Berkeley College.” At Berkeley College, he experienced different job opportunities such as a CPR course. He learned how to analyze data with other teenagers.
Another student, Nasly Peralta said, “I started researching colleges, I started on my college essays, and also started doing my FAFSA ID and my CSS profile.”
It is important for students to start thinking about their future as early as possible.
Seniors have given some advice for lower classmen in regards to preparing to start the actual college applications.
Dania Ali said, “Definitely don’t slack off, make sure you know when you have to do things, and don’t procrastinate because if you procrastinate you’re just going to have things piling up on top of each other and it’s not fun.”
Peralta said, “It’s never too early to start planning and start thinking about what you want to major in and colleges.”
“Get that stuff done as soon as possible, the sheer amount of supplements and other writings, along with giving documentation is crazy,” said Shaon Ali.
Ali also said, “You’ll be swamped with work to get done on top of regular classwork and if you like me taking two APs and college-credited classes, it’s a lot to get done.”
Senior year can be challenging but with early preparation and Pace’s adequate support throughout the college application process, the procedure can be less stressful.
