For thousand of seniors, this fall is going to be life-altering as they engage in the battle of a lifetime – getting accepted into a college.
Having lost that battle once, I am entering the ring for the second round.
With only eleven grades of Ukrainian high school to complete, I applied to colleges last year and got acceptances and major scholarships only to discover in May that I would not receive my high school graduation diploma.
Immersed in this college application system for so long, I have dealt with its various aspects and witnessed its many sides. More than determining the student’s next four years, it also shapes the rest of their lives.
Future friends, career, home, and love are all impacted by this one single point.
For the applicants, the pressure comes from every angle: parents, teachers, friends, and family. The emotions that the seniors are experiencing can hardly be put into words.
But the seniors at Ojai Valley School tried to.
When it comes to Ben Manning – aiming for schools such as Dartmouth, Stanford, and UCLA – he is straight and clear.
“It’s been the worst experience of my life,” he says.
He has spent hours upon hours of work polishing his applications while completing loads of AP homework, competing in sports, and taking on the responsibilities of being a school president
The anxiety about the future, or “hum,” as he calls it, is always present in the background. Whether he is occupied, or trying to relax, he feels the burden of putting in more work into his college applications or studying for the SAT.
As to coping, he says that the only way to quiet this noise is by doing more work.
So, is it worth it?
“I ask myself that every day,” Ben said. “I think it really is worth it. I have an older brother who’s at UCLA and he’s having an amazing time at college. And so when I think about that, it makes it feel worth it.”
OVS college counselor Fred Alvarez is overseeing 30 seniors who intend to submit more than 200 applications between now and February.
Most of them started their college journey last spring, trying to manage the plethora of information and to-do lists that await them in their final year of high school, alongside the responsibilities that come with this enormous transition.
“They are preparing to head off on one of life’s great adventures as college students, but I don’t envy them the work that is necessary to get there,” Mr. Alvarez said
For many students, including Kate Huey, another senior at OVS, the college application process is the beginning of a grander, much more demanding challenge
Let’s say you have spent your last teenage summer “cramming all of your experience as a person into like 650 words or less,” as Kate puts it. Let’s say, you have given the “right impression” at the interview and were one of the 17% accepted.
“It’s not like overwhelming. I think it’s more stressful for me to think about actually getting there,” Kate said. “I’m used to doing work…I’ve done assignments my whole life, so it’s fine. But I think it’s more stressful for me to think about leaving my home.”
Together with thousands of others, you are yet to face potentially the biggest, most overlooked challenge of this adventure – leaving the comforts of your home and heading into the unknown.
Today, 09.26.2023, is the day I enter the ring once again.
By submitting my application I, like so many other seniors, am putting my flesh and soul, my nerve cells and my experiences ,into this one, all-changing moment.