November means college applications

Source: Commonapp.org

By: Rei Betoja and Antonio Contreras

Senior year means a couple things; graduation, final year, kings of the school, and finally college. Senior year starts with a race to complete the college process and prepare for next year. 

The college essay, letters of recommendation, transcripts, and much more all used to advertise yourself and hopefully sell yourself to them with the hope of an acceptance letter. Senior have embarked out on this journey and we wanted to see how the process has affected them as the deadlines approach.

COVID has affected many things in our day-to-day lives which now feel normal as if we had done it for our whole lives, but one of these changes has included the college process. With colleges usually requesting your SAT scores, college essay, transcripts, and letters of recommendation, COVID has changed this process dramatically. Some colleges in the United States, such as UCONN, have stopped requesting some of these such as your SAT score.

Choosing where to go and what to study is only the start to the process, but this decision alone is a struggle for many students. This common struggle,in fact, affects about one third of college students who change their major within school. 

We talked to Wethersfield senior Giankarlos Dejesus to get some insight on how he felt about what the hardest decision he needed to make was, “Figuring out where exactly I want to go and how far.” 

 He continued on about how COVID has helped him, stating, “As well as the fact that it has affected whether or not you needed SAT scores.” 

In 2021, a total of just 43 percent of students submitted their SAT scores which dropped 33% from 77% in 2020. This is due to the fact that 90% of college app schools do not request them. So, for many students, who may feel as if their scores may have kept them out of contention for some schools, this has made it much easier for them.

College comes with a bunch of new experiences and meeting new people. “Meeting new people and getting new connections,” is what Gionkarlos is looking forward to next year. But before that, they must take on the challenge the college process imposes on all those looking to go to college.

 So we asked school counselor Mrs. Lindsay what advice she has for students. “Do a lot of research, so you know who you are and if they are a good fit for you.” 

You will spend the next four+ years of your life here, so find the right one. For the process, she recommends, “Take responsibility on the things you do because everything you do is up to you.” This process is extremely important and the last thing you wanna do is fall behind.

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