Running to the mailbox, looking for the letter from that dream school. Anxiously anticipating whether that letter says accepted or declined, an experience college-bound seniors are expecting in the next few months.
Over the past few years, however, seniors have been increasingly receiving disappointing news. With the rise of application tools like CommonApp, colleges have seen a steep rise in applications from students around the world.
While this may seem to be great for students, the increase of applications has led to a decrease in acceptances. This creates difficulty for students trying to make it into their dream schools and receive scholarships that they otherwise would be qualified for.
Senior Raiden Kolodji, has concerns for his college applications, even with schools he believes he has a high chance of being accepted to.
“Because my scores are high enough, they’re above the SAT requirements,” Kolodji said. “But with such a low acceptance rate, like Irvine is like 25%, I think there’s gonna be people with infinitely better scores than I have. They’re also applying. So that’s what scares me.”
One of the most important parts of a college application is writing an essay. Students want to write essays that will set them apart from their peers, Kolodji is not much different in that regard.
“I know a lot of people are trying to do sob stories,” Kolodji said, “And I don’t really want to write a sob story. So it’s hard to make something that’s unique, but also interesting.”
However, applying to colleges with low acceptance rates does not necessarily mean that students will not make it into their dream schools. Even if a student is rejected from the school they wanted to attend the most, that does not mean the student is not able to pursue their dreams. As long as students put in valuable time and effort during their time in high school, their hard work will not go unnoticed.
Wando has many teachers, counselors, and Career and Technology Education specialists that can assist students in the years and months leading up to students applying to college.
Dr. Shanteisha Roper, a teacher and CTE representative, helps push students into the right direction when it comes to getting prepared for college and careers in the years following high school.
Roper said she believes that one of the most important parts of the college application process is staying on top of everything. “It doesn’t start after college, it starts before college, making sure you are taking the classes that you’re supposed to be taking, making sure you’re testing the way you’re supposed to be testing,” Roper said.
Roper heavily stressed the idea of students being themselves and not trying to be someone who they aren’t. “Students need to make sure they stick to pretty much what they know and their experiences, because no one can tell your story like you can. That’s another thing that colleges are looking for,” Roper said.
Roper also made it clear that students should be flexible when it comes to what they do in life, they might not always end up where
they initially desired.
“If you want to be a doctor, you may not be a doctor, but you may work at a hospital, you may work in a medical field, you may be a program manager of a hospital,” Roper said.
Roper believes that being accepted into big name colleges or dream colleges does not define who a student is.
“Shoot for the moon. And if you don’t make it to the moon, you’ll still end up among the stars,” Roper said.
