Senior trying to complete college applications during study hall

College application deadlines are looming for many LFHS seniors, creating an environment of overwhelming pressure when combined with other activities and commitments. Whether students are applying early decision, early action, regular decision, or another option, their applications must be completed in the near future.

LFHS should implement an optional elective for seniors who want extra time and help to complete their applications, similar to the common app help given over the summer.

“I think having the extra help on applications would remove stress from seniors, but it could take a similar form to the Drivers Ed class. Two days of study hall and two days of help would be a good balance for seniors’ first semester,” senior Tim Dan said.

According to the College Board, finalizing the overall essay can take anywhere from days to multiple weeks and securing the other materials can be a month-long process or longer. 

Completing an application requires a variety of boxes to check. Students must finish their common app essay, activities list, varying questions about family and education, and multiple supplementals for each school while also securing their high school transcript and letters of recommendations.

With so much time dedicated to other commitments from senior year that end up becoming a large part of your application, such as grades and leadership roles, applications are often squeezed in with the remaining time.

“On average, the adolescents spent 7.9 hours in extracurricular activities per week; 9.1 hours per week doing homework, and 2.5 evenings per week with peers,” The National Library of Medicine said.

“School work is already stressful as a senior and adding on applications is a lot,” senior Raunak Singh said. “I don’t have a lot of time in a day because of extracurricular activities and you end up having to sacrifice one or the other so I think it would be a great idea to carve out the time and help for seniors.”

Some seniors have the benefit of a hired college counselor specific to their needs during the application process. Having requirements and a timeline to complete them can be very helpful for seniors who can be overwhelmed with the amount of work.

“Having a counselor was really helpful. She guided me through my essays and told me what certain schools were looking for,” LFHS alumni Danielle Moore said. “If not for her giving me goals to meet, I definitely wouldn’t have been on top of my applications.”

But many seniors do not have the opportunity or resources to hire a one on one tutor. If a student does not have the chance to work with a counselor, they often miss out on the structure and guidance given to many of their classmates.

Implementing a first semester elective that carved out the time for seniors to focus on finishing their common app, writing supplementals, or creating their essay would take a weight off the backs of students. Simply two or three times a week would remove layers of stress and confusion about the application process.

“Although I have been aware of my supplemental prompts and questions for months, it doesn’t make the application process any less stressful. I struggle to prioritize applications during my day when school and sports are going on which ends up with me procrastinating,” senior Lexi Bentley said. “I wish the school offered a class right from the beginning of the year to get seniors to start early because the application process is not exactly direct and I still have a lot of questions.”