By: Dahlia Sambhi and Fateha Syed

The senior class of 2024 is taking the first (of many) steps to apply to colleges as the first college deadline, Nov. 1, 2023, approaches. The first rush of college applications, essays and scholarship submissions takes over the lives of seniors. The pressure to put together the perfect college application is intense, whether it’s early decision, early action, regular decision, or rolling admissions.

“When it comes to starting your college apps, I recommend starting during the summer; at least start brainstorming what you want your college essay to be about because I think that’s what a lot of people spend the most time on,” said Mt. Hebron senior Nancy Antwi.

Managing schoolwork, extracurricular activities, part-time jobs and sports while trying to complete applications is no small accomplishment or ordeal. Mt. Hebron senior Melia Botticelli gave her tips and tricks on dealing with the process.

“Working on the applications a little every day, sitting down, and put away any distractions so I could get my work done benefitted me a lot throughout this whole process. I would manage my time so I could spend a certain amount of time on my college apps so I didn’t have to cram it all last minute,” stated Botticelli.

There are numerous colleges that seniors apply to, whether they’re in-state or out-of-state. The colleges have different requirements, such as additional supplemental questions. These supplemental questions can range from a variety of simple questions that can be answered in a couple of sentences to deep and meaningful questions that must be answered in an essay format, therefore taking a substantial amount of time.

“After the main common app essay, I would definitely say the supplementals are the hardest because you have to put a lot of thought into your answers and find a way to make them unique so they can stand out to the reader,” said Antwi.

The stress during this period is undeniable, as the fear of missing a deadline or making a mistake in an application is a senior’s biggest fret.

“I was up until very late every day and would shed a lot of tears during the process of writing my essays,” said Antwi

As seniors continue to submit their college applications, they are one step closer to finishing their last year of high school. Eager to determine whether they got in, seniors are now waiting for their college decisions, honor programs, scholarship offers and the next round of regular decision applications to begin. It’s a busy season to be a Viking!