The change from a student’s senior year of high school to the first day on a college campus is a major part of life. This point marks the start into a world of higher education. This portion of their life comes with new challenges, new people and new ways to enjoy oneself.
However, the only way to reach this point is with college applications.
According to the Denver School of Arts, a college application is a file of information about oneself that colleges and universities use to measure how good of a match one is for the school being applying to. That process can include filling out the Self-reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS), or just providing one’s transcript, to providing the college one’s social security number and taking medical shots.
In this particular section of life, everyone’s experience differs. One point that tends to be different for each person is the reason for applying. It’s the reason one has decided to pursue higher education and allow themselves to become more knowledgeable.
“I’ve always wanted to pursue further education outside of high school, but recently it’s only been a matter of what I actually want to major in,” senior Vee Hewett said. “Because I was stuck between two majors, I found the University of North Texas. Turns out after extensive research, UNT has good programs for both Journalism and Psychology, so I can get used to my surroundings there and be comfortable changing my major if need be.”
When applying for college initially, having someone there for you, whether it be family or friends, can change the outcome. That support can boost one’s overall confidence and morale giving them exactly what they need when they do go to fill out that college application and with a mindset like that, anything is possible.
“Both of my parents supported me to go to college; they actually encouraged me from a young age to go to college,” senior Diego Vazquez said. “They would have conversations with me about how going to college would be beneficial to me and how it would help me better find work.”
On average, students can take anywhere from a couple hours to finish an application, to a week or even a month. This length of time all depends on the amount of information one has to fill out and how open the college one is applying to for support. Another primary reason it could take students extended periods of time to finish the application is if one particular portion is extremely difficult.
“I first began the application process in September and finished in November,” senior Hiya Patel said. “The hardest part of the application process was figuring out how I wanted to structure my essay. I had so many ideas, but didn’t know which one to pick because I wanted my essay to be perfect.”
Once the process is completed, the final stretch comes with waiting to see if one was accepted, or the contrary. However, whenever the wait is finally up, the reward of seeing the outcome can change everything.
“UNT actually lost one of my responses so it took about two months to hear back from them,” Hewett said. “I actually had just logged into the student portal on a whim and it said accepted, which I did not expect whatsoever. I was overjoyed that I could finally focus on the future rather than worrying if I was good enough.”
Source: What Is A College Application
