What Worries You Most About the College Admissions Process?

What worries me the most about the college admissions process is that it not easy as I think it is or seem. I am worry about going to college because for my financial aid and tuition assistance program if I will have enough money to go to college. Passing the tests that worries me too. I am a person who has short-term memory. I do not pick up things fast as people usually wants me. Example I have to study, re-read and re-write the information able for me to memorize it .At the same time, I have one- year-old baby who depend on me only. Moreover, sometime I ask myself what happen if I will not get enough time to attend school or to do my homework. However, I had been told ones you have to sweat to get what you want or need in life.

Was anyone nervous about going to college?

Yes I am planning on going to college. There is a college I really want to go to and it's my dream school. To prepare myself to go to my dream school, I'm going to visit the campus to experience the life of a college student. The thing that worries me is how the college look at your ACT or SAT scores. I just want my dream college to know that I really did try really hard to get that score. I just hope the college don't go by the score to accept you. Also, I worry about my grades and this year I'm going to try really hard to get all A's and B's. Also, I worry about the college essays because you have to type and read to make sure you didn't repeat the same thing over again.

As we all know that, Admission process is most important and challenging for every students because when we are in high school we have to write college essay, resumes, select the college where we want to go. Also , after doing all this things to apply for college we will have some problems because the essay we wrote is being selected or not to get a seat on the college. Also we have to do every things by our self which was most challenging for me. In my first day of college I was so nervous because I couldn’t find the way to go in administration office. By asking some students I reached there but there was also a big problem that I faced because we have to submit different documents like FAFSA application, financial Aid etc. After that they told me I have to take Accuplacer test and I was confused because I had never heard about it. however getting in college is not that much easy in my life because I wasn’t being taught by others to do this and that. Although one memorable moment so far in preparing for the college is that I got lots of support from the students to find the way to go from one place to another in the college which was my most memorable part to be in college. Comparing to the student stories and my own experiences I believe that life can be challenging in any situation in peoples life .so you have to work hard in to be success and to get happiness in life.

In my opinion, my SAT score was most worries me about the College Admissions Process. Because, I thought that my SAT score will decied my collage. In addition, there were lot of things to study about the SAT. When I started to study for SAT, I feel like it’s too much to study. Moreover, I thought I was not going to get good score and I will not be able to get in good college. After that, started to work hard to get the high score. On the other side, I was also worry about the collage admission essay. I wanted to write the perfect essay that I can get attention to the guidance. After that I had to write a good essay.

Going to college is easy for most, but when I think about college, it makes me scared. Because of lack of understanding the language and when it comes to “vocabulary words” which could lower my GPA. When I start reading a story, I have to read repeatedly just to understand what the main idea of story is? Or what is the author trying to tell us. It is difficult for me because when I take test it has time limit. Whether you finish or not I have to hand in my paper which could possibly lower my scores as well as GPA.

I think that for many student are worried about all the process for college application because each part is important in the process for then into the college.It important have many knowledge that you get in classes and extracurricular activities for we can get good grades and test score.Also, it isn’t only important for students but also it is important for parents that they should finance costs of tests, tutoring and college application for their sons.I do not have memorable moments to prepare me for college because many documents to deliver to CUNY it was difficult to get from my origin country because the process is very slow. Also, I think that for many students with immigration status does not allow easily getting financial help to education. Based on students’ stories about experiences frustrating for college admissions process, my opinion is that each students have different experiences but they have not given up on achieving their dreams.Then this makes me think that it is worth the effort, economic sacrifice, and time to achieve our goals, because it's preparation for a better future.I think that I should strive to take classes or workshop that it will allow me to get a good score and getting the validation of my career.It's very important has a good score in ATB for receive financial aid because I am a transfer student and it is the only economic option in the state of New York for me.This process is difficult for me, but the education in this country is best.

The most worries and the pressures is the writing exam because students depend on it. If the teachers like it, how they are able to. This way is the most frustrating and sad for them. In my opinion, it is not possible to kill the mind and emotions from the students .I am student from Clip in York College and for me it is very frustrating because the students depend on an exam. If we do not pass, we have to take remedial class in the college. I think that the teachers or the education department can give a chance in how to enter without many frustrations about, achieving our goals.

In general, I think for every students has to face some of the difficult situation and it makes them very depress when it comes to admission process. It might be critical because it’s going to be first time of college applicants and most of the students don’t know what to do and how it’s works. However, for me college application was little difficult I used to follow whatever my guidance has told me to do. Some of them were tricky because I have to do some many editing for financial aid, TAB, and college applications. Then I was worrying whether they will accept me, or the process has been submitted correctly to the college.

The reality of the moment when we go to college make a big beginning in our life. At that time, many things happen us. How will be the whole process, if the teacher will be good or if we will be able to face this new challenge presented by the college. I remembered the moment when I applied to collage. I was so nervous and the process was so hard and stressful. I needed to collect many papers and I went many times to the collage, then to complete the online process. When you came from other country the process is more stressful than if you grew up in United Stated. I do not know why but it has happened. The part most frustrating to the admissions is when you do everything that it was supposed to do and then sometimes the people do not collaborate with you. Or when you do not qualify for any reasons and you need to repeat the all process again. When I came to this country the first thing I thought, it was that, In United Stated everything is difficult to do and it has a long process specific when you go to collage. They should have consideration, because we paid for everything to apply. Those moments are memorable because we are so excited to be accepted. Also we exhausted and leave our strength and tears in the process. I think that the admissions process needs to be more patient and considerate, the efforts of the students and their family. The education is really good and it could be better if the admissions process upgrade in many aspect.

I am so worries about my college planning,because i did not know well English properly.If i do not understand my reading or oral option,how can i take my major classes.Every day new things are going to come like,reading books,taking tests,writing essay and i want to get good scores.For that reasons i am so worried. But i am so excited to go to the college,it is time to take the next step for my future.

I have two years preparing for college because my English is not perfect. I had to take the assessment test to be accepting in college and unfortunately, I fail. Now I am taking classes in CLIP (Cuny Language Immersion Program) to learn more English. I am accepting in York College, and I am very happy because the people in admition office helped me a lot with my application. The only challenge that I had was with my medical documents because an error with my name. Every document that you bring to college have to be very clear and with corrects names, if not, that can frustrate you. I am worry about college essay because this is the only problem that I have right now.

What worries me the most about the college admissions process is that it not easy as I think it is or seem. I am worry about going to college because for my financial aid and tuition assistance program if I will have enough money to go to college. Passing the tests that worries me too. I am a person who has short-term memory. I do not pick up things fast as people usually wants me. Example I have to study, re-read and re-write the information able for me to memorize it .At the same time, I have one- year-old baby who depend on me only. Moreover, sometime I ask myself what happen if I will not get enough time to attend school or to do my homework. However, I had been told ones you have to sweat to get want you want or need in life.

I am doing to my future the best, so now ¨I am studying in the clip program¨. That’s 20 hours a week just in English language and I am looking a job part time because I need to pay my school, my rent and no body helps me to pay nothing because I don’t want too. Now my husband help me every morning to bring me to the college in the car, ¨I am a competitive person¨ and now I don’t have time to study or to relax because I am working too but every night I need to take my computer or my books to study and do the best to me. ¨The last week I was very nervous¨ because I don’t know if the college is my place so when the director in the clip program said you finished your test and you are inside in 21 June are the class, I called my husband and my mom and I was crying. I don’t care if I spend so much time in my admission because is my time about my future and if I don’t do nothing to me, no body help me, just me. I leave my last job because it was full time and the life is not just money. ¨ I am not sure if this is first to clip say yes or no¨. The more memorable moments in my admission was when Frankie Solórzano give me my appointment to the test so¨ I cried and I said thanks because this is my opportunity for my new future¨. About the frustrating part in the admissions I think is fair because if everything is easy the people do not do anything to the future, but if you crying and you struggle, you can do everything in your life and in the world.

According to the article, these thoughts can relate to me since I have some memorable moments in preparing for college. For example while I prepare for college, I had many struggles. Some of this struggles were choosing a major, and asking my question why I wanted to choose it. After sending various college applications, I was so worry and desperate to get any result from one of those colleges where I had applied. Every day I would look at my e-mail to see if I had any email from one of them. Overall, I was so happy because I knew that I was ready to graduate in order to take the next step for college. At the end, of February I received an email to confirmed the Fact that BMCC had accepted me. These moments are noteworthy; since as soon as I received my college notifications, I started studying and getting ready for the placement test. In addition as soon as they told me I was accepted to start the trimester on fall I was so excited to know that I had accomplished a huge part of my life and that it was time to take the next step for my future.

I am a little worry about the college admissions process because every day new things are going to come, like reading books, taking tests, writing essays and I want to have good scores. I had a memorable and nervous moment when I took the CLIP test on June 11, 2018. I was nervous and sad because I did not have time to finish some questions, but when I came to college and looked the level where I am now and it was level 4, the highest. I was so happy because, my first semester I was in level 1 so, it was a great step. In my opinion the most frustrating part of the college admissions process is beginning the semester, because everybody comes little nervous, with the needs of learning and beginning. Some people do not know what to write.

The biggest worry to me is: being accepted in the college that I want to study, because I don’t know enough English language. I got a major 6 years ago and I would like to attend to a Master, I think that having a good language skill is very important and determinant for I be accepted. For the other hand, I’m not sure if I can be accepted in a Master about Marketing with my previous major and if my work experience and actual job is admitted. The another one worry is to be approved when I will apply for scholarships and financial aid, I think, I need search more information about it because my situation migratory in the United State does not be to favor me. I have a lot question about that, I should go to conselor.

The most worries, and the pressure is " the brief " because students depend about it, if the teachers would like it , in how they can write and their development.This way is the most frustrating and sad for them. In my opinion not is possible kill the mind and emotions from the students.I am student from Clip in York College and for me is very frustrating because the students depend on a exam if we do not pass we have to take remedial class in the college. I think that the teachers or the education department can give a chance in how into without many frustrations about achieve our goals.

I have almost two years in the United States, and I am worried about English because I still do not know enough. This worries me because I am almost go to college and I have not passed the exams. In addition, many students are worried about college because many think they cannot get good grades in college. In addition, many students are concerned about applying for scholarships and financial aid because many people dream about studying and not all are accepted for financial aid. In this way, many people students will not be able to study because the degree are quite expensive.

In my opinion, the most worried moment was that I do not pass my CTW. That makes me feels nervous because , I want to be attendant to college this year and I am really surprised because I wasn’t bad student in High School sometimes I think that maybe this happen because I make this to impossible in my mind; because of that feel anxious and couldn’t pass

I have been living in United States for one year. Before I come, I did not know anything about the process to go to college. When I read the stories, I saw that here, the students had a difficult and exhausted process in order to be accepted by the University. They need to take the right class and the right extracurricular activities because for that, maybe they cannot go where they want. I am from Madrid, Spain, and there we do not have all of these requirements, we only need to have good scores and with that, you can be accepted and take scholarships. I think that is very frustrating to prepared for many years, and later see that you cannot go when you want. For example, before I went to college, I want to study Law and Business in a special degree. When you study both at the same time, but I can’t took the score and I couldn’t studied that. This day I felt so frustrated by everything happened for something. Finally, I was been accepted in Business and I study in other city and other countries. When I read all of these experience about other students, I feel that here it is more difficult and expensive that in my country. Therefore, in order to do that, if I want go to college and be someone, I need to study and work hard to take my dreams.

What worried me most about applying to colleges? My GPA worried me the most. Now by no stretch of the imagination was I ever a bad student in my mind, I just hated doing formative work because I thought if I got A’s and B’s on the test I’ve obviously shown my knowledge. Naturally I got sub par grades to what I was capable of and when the ACT came around I did fairly well. My ACT got me into anywhere I wanted to go but my GPA showed a different story. So when I would sit down to write my essay I would have to really try and explain what kind of student I am and what I struggled with and that I’m much better than that number. Well every time I did that I grew more and more contempt and lost a lot of pride. Because everytime I sat down I knew I didn't reach my full potential, I knew I should have worked harder, and I knew that I didn’t have any pride left in my entire being because I let myself get to that point. So maybe what had worried me in the beginning may have been only a number, but what that number represented scared and shook me to my very core.

For the collage admission if I worried about something it’s that scholarships and financial aid. Because financial support is big helpful for me and also all those students who depended with himself or herself. I thing in new York without financial aid I cannot continue my study. In collage for semester and books and other are so costly. Financial aid means I don’t need to worry about money for study.so I need financial support .I already apply for the financial aid by online. IF I get it I thing it give me big support .without any tension I can focused on my study very well

The article said that the students worries must about collage progress application such as writing the essay, getting good grades to get accepted in collage the dream to go . The progress can take time to get in. but get accepted and seeing result grades if is good can get reward and help to pay for collage, For example of the article Mary Craford 18 student who auditioned to music program and get accepted in and receive scholarship.

If I begin to tell what worries me most about admission process. I can tell almost everything worries me. However, the writing essay worries me most. Because every time I write, I get lots of grammar and spelling mistake. Some time, I know those things but when I write I cannot recognize that I am getting mistakes. When I was preparing for my college admission in my country. I study so heard I did not sleep night over night. I was so scare that I got fiver during those day. But when I got my result its make me so happy that I forgot everything after that. Most of the time students endure some difficulties during this process. I think most transfer student like me in this country they always get frustration to admit in a college. For me understanding and writing English is hard. Moreover, it is a challenge for me to. But if anybody want they can overcome it by their hard work.

In my opinion, I was in high school last year. The essay had been easy to me, but in college is different from high school. I failed once again because it is too challenging to pass the exam. The essay has four paragraphs include introduction, two body paragraphs and conclusion, but sometimes it could be spend more time finish writing the essay early. Some parts of the essay is too complicate understanding those skills how to write very clearly to take good examination, sometimes the essay is not hard for exams. The students need to learn more in CLIP program before take exam. It is good to get scholarship for college. The essay will be beneficial for students who have their education.

I am a college student as a freshman. I am worry about reading and writing test. If that test score is not good I cannot get credit class. Riding and writing are important for good performance in the class. It helps to get a good grad and score. It also helps in scholarships.

What worries me most about college is that I have spent a long time learning English and doing things to get in college. However, I do not know if I am going to be successful there and I have many questions about it. Will I finish college? What is going to happen after college? Moreover, none questions have answers. All of us know that we try get in college for one better future, better jobs and all those things but that is not sure.

The factor that I really worry about is taking the right classes in the college, as soon as, the maintenance in how get the money and keep an equilibrium between living good and having well scores in classes and tests. I applied for financial aid and to get that money, I had to pass the ATB. Now I had to think about how to get the money to keep doing the right way. In addition, one of the most complicated thing that students present is the college admissions. When I was in my country, the most complicated thing was how to enter to the university, because there was a lot of competence, no too much universities and the economic status.

In my opinion, going to college is the best option. I feel happy because I am learning a lot in class. I am still in progress because everyday day I am trying to do the best I can to make progress to go to College. I came to America without English, that’s why I make a lot of effort to practice that language every day. I am worry about financial aid that’s make me think to do extra work in class because life is not easy. I want to be a good student that’s why I watch English shows every day to practice more English.

I have plan on going to college. So I am so excited go to college. I love study. I want to do for my future career. I am most nervous about writing my college essay. writing college essay is big worry for me because they take a lot of time and effort. But this is so hard for me. I want good grades.

I can relate this article with my life because for me, going to college is what I want, but thinking about it always scares me. As an immigrant who has already finished my high school in my country I came here without English so, I have to find a way, put myself at a reasonable level, and get ready for that. I know nothing is easy in life but thinking about the career that I have chosen the financial Aid make me crazy. I am worried about everything because I do not know if my choice is correct or not, because sometimes you feel getting down and have to change your mind. I want to be a good student when I go to College. Even it is hard I think I can do it and I will do it because I have to. Education is important for me.

A path to college is mostly long and difficult. A way to college for a foreigner is even longer. It is not only matter of lack of language skills, financial possibilities, the difficulty of obtaining original documents from native country, transferring credits, confusing admittance system, but also all stages of education, which American children pass from a Pre-K to the university. All abovementioned aspects are familiar and typical for me, but I hope they would be unknown for my son, who has started his education in the US from the first grade. This and the other educational opportunities affect not easiness but accuracy for his way to college as a step to his happy, high-quality future, what I will try to demonstrate him by my own sample.

I thought that I will be in college next year. I am excited about that but also worried about writing essays and grades. Because it takes a lots time and effort. There is a lots of competition in college about grades. So, I must work hard during the college to make myself stand out. I communicate with my teachers and ask them please tell me how I do more better in college.

What I most worry about the college admissions process is getting good grades and tests. This would be for what I will be most worry about because my English is not very strong like a Native. So I will have to work most than my classmates to get good grades and tests. For my level, of English.

As a soon to be senior in high school I tend to realize that college is just around the corner. It makes me think about where I want to go for college. I know what I want to do for my future career, the only thing I worry about is applying for colleges. The application process seems much more than I had thought

I am in the process with my son. The Long island Valedictorians have final grades that get computed in varying ways. One had an unweight average above 100 which should be impossible. We have a very large group with 100 averages. SAT/ACT and Subject tests are one way to tease them apart. Almost all 100 average kids have community service, president of club X, participated in sport , and have all the same honor societies. Truth be told because of grade inflation they all look similar. We have essay consultants who "assist" kids with the essays to say what they think the schools want. The system is broke! The guidance counselor said we should apply to at least 10 schools. Why? I went to college in 1980 and we thought about who we applied to. Now we just choose a multiple of schools and when we see acceptance then choose. That is why acceptance rates are down. We have students applying to schools they have no real interest in. I have heard consultants say to indicate a race/ethnicity that is sought after. They have said you can't prove it was wrong. Colleges get applications with incorrect data with students/parents gamming the system. The system is broke! One consultant near me specialized in making parents seem divorced/separated for their college apps and aid. We have created a monster of a system and the system is broke!

I can completely relate to Mary Crawford and her oboe incident. I had an audition for a college honors band and it snowed the day before and my flute felt like an icicle and didn't want to play anything higher than an F. I however wasn't as lucky as she was and didn't end up making it into the ensemble.

As a freshman in high school, many people are beginning to think about college. Although I am very excited for when I go to college, I am also nervous. I am a student who wants to have good grades but I also like taking hard classes and pushing myself. I think that I will stress myself out because I am going to want to take a lot of hard classes and expect to get an A when it might not be possible. I am also worried about the application process because it seems really stressful and frightening.

As a junior in highschool, I have already started the application process for college. I have taken the SAT, the SAT subject tests, and will be taking the ACT this week. Though I have not started actually applying to colleges, I can already tell that the process will be frightening, stressful, and tiring. What awaits me worries me, and I do not believe it should be this way. In the article, Julia Briones-Avila mentioned having developed a eating disorder. I think it is ridiculous that students have to sacrifice their health and go so far to appeal to colleges. I believe I am a good enough student, and I know I try hard to understand the content in class no matter how difficult. I take the most rigorous classes offered in my school, I make sure my grades are high, and I communicate with my teachers. However, my scores are not up to the expectation of good universities. I wish the process was based off of more than a number. It frustrates me because I wish they saw the type of person and student I am rather than if I can answer questions under a timed limit.

Applying to college may be viewed as frustrating for many. As a rising senior, I am most nervous about writing my college essays. Writing college essays is what worries me the most because they take a lot of time and effort. Writing essays for competitive colleges puts even more pressure on a student during the college application process. After reading about students' experiences throughout this article, I am more hopeful about applying to college. Even though the students did not get their expected outcomes in the beginning, they still managed to be "awarded" in the end. I am surprisingly more hopeful about applying to college after reading through an interview from Joel Martin Fong, 17, from El Paso, Tex., because he mentioned how in the end, "it absolutely paid off." After reading several other interviews, I now know that in order to become more successful in the college application process, I need to be patient with what I'm expecting as my outcome. #benoble #pritzkercollegeprep

What worries me the most about college admissions is the whole application process. I am worried about doing my essay because it takes a lot of time and effort. I also don't know what to put into my essay and what to say. I want to apply to a competitive college and I don't know if my application will be strong enough. I think I have good extra curricular's and awards I have earned to put into my application. I also have a decent SAT score and I hope that helps ,e get into college. Over all I am most nervous for my essays and scared of being differed or rejected from my dream college.

As I will be a sophomore starting this September I have done everything in my power to impress colleges. I have scheduled all honors and AP courses to acquire as many credits as possible. Thinking about all the standardized tests that are coming up for the following year worries me since I am not a good test taker. I also worry about my grades. It's no secret that colleges expect high test scores and a 4.0 GPA and that is not all. Participating in all clubs, community service, and sports. I am very involved in my school and dedicate many hours for the clubs I am in but sometimes it is just not enough. There is only so much one person can do to impress a college and they have to do everything it takes.

I am going into ninth grade next year, and have to start to worry about college. Now that grades actually matter, I must spend hours studying, along with getting involved in extra curriculars that I like. There is a lot of competition in my high school about getting into good colleges, so I must work hard during the next four years to make myself stand out.

From the beginning of my junior the topic of college and where I would be applying was always on my mind. Through my freshman and sophomore year I pushed away the idea of college because I believed that I had a lot of time to think and plan about what school would be the best fit. This year college has been constantly brought into the conversation with my friends and family. When I see my family friends they make it a point to ask where I was thinking about going and what I was going to study. My answer was short: I’m not sure yet. I procrastinated from the idea of college because I became anxious and nervous about graduating high school and going off to this unknown. I felt like I was far behind my peers because I had only seen one school while they’ve seen ten. The college admission process is nerve racking in a way that for me I hope that I have the right qualities and test scores that they are looking for. I have watched my sisters anxiously awaiting their college acceptance letters from their top schools and the struggles that they went through during the process of applying and waiting to hear back. When I begin applying to colleges in the fall I hope that everything will work out as it’s supposed to in the end as it did for my sisters.

Being a junior in high school, there is a lot to consider for my future: where do I wanna go? What do I even what to do? These questions, and many others, swirled my mind throughout this year. Concerning me the most about applying for college is that my fear that I won’t get in. I am afraid of rejection. However, despite the struggles in “becoming an adult”, I have grown as a person, learning so many valuable lessons from each obstacle. So far, my most noteworthy moment has been being recognized by collegiate sports coaches. Because I want to continue athletics, this recognition was not only validation my hard work has paid off but made me think; maybe I really can play field hockey in college. Besides the stress of making yourself look ‘good’ on your resume, the focus some colleges put on being a great test taker seems to me the most frustrating. Though I maintain a 95.1 GPA, I struggle with standardized tests like the SAT. Putting an emphasis on the test scores gives some students a disadvantage from the start: ultimately making it unfair. There should be more focus on who the person is, how well they do in school, and what activities they’re passionate about. From the students’ experiences in the article, I have learned that in the end, it is just a school. What you do with your life afterwards matters more alongside being a good person and defining your own success story. With this, you make the most out of your experiences regardless of where you graduated.

As a student who will soon be applying to colleges, I would argue that it is not the things like picking the right schools or worrying whether you will get in or not that are the stressful parts. I believe that it is much more stressful and more difficult to choose the right field to study when you get to college. Most colleges nowadays have pretty good education and our high schools are fairly helpful in making sure we pick a good college and can get in, but it is what you choose to do when you get there that becomes uncertain. What you decide to major in has long lasting effects on your life after college and up until retirement because it is what you learn in college that determines what you will likely pursue in life and if you spend your whole life in a career you don't enjoy you are simply wasting your time. While if you choose a college that doesn't really suit you you could always transfer or just ride out the four years; however if you choose the wrong major and graduate with a degree in a field you no longer want to pursue what do you do then, go back to school? try and get a job without the college education? It is much more difficult to switch careers than it is to get into or transfer from a college which puts a lot more pressure on picking a good major than a good college.

In the 21st century, the concept of college has grown into a daunting challenge most aren’t prepared for. Some spend their entire childhood and early adult life blinded to what activities or programs would make them look better. Instead of enjoying and exploring what should be a gateway to adult life becomes a blockade of stress and confusion. The college admissions process in particular for me, is almost too challenging to tackle. Most of my life has been following my older brother and watching his mistakes and successes. Going into the military has left me with too many unknowns to count, and no hand to guide me to step one. I admit, colleges are a business, they aim to benefit themselves through getting young adults money. Now this exchange has developed from meeting the standards equals admission to a student is only valuable if they can produce more than just grades. It’s difficult in the application process for those who are vaguely aware of what they wish to pursue for the rest of their lives. College admissions have grown too internally focused on what can benefit them; this business must change towards a progressive focus on the applicants. Change must happen to accomplish, “It’s not what you can do for the college, it’s what we can do for you”.

My biggest worry when thinking about the college application process is wondering if I worked as hard as I could and was the best student I could’ve possibly been. Junior year in high school is by far the hardest year yet. I have noticed that their simply just isn’t enough time to complete everything to the absolute best of your ability and also participate in extracurricular sports or clubs. I try to make myself as versatile as I can by participating in many different activities and taking multiple different classes. With this, I continuously wonder if colleges will just see my grades and things I participated in and make an immediate assumption about me. For example if I did not do well in a certain class they would just see my grade and not understand that I had other commitments I had to balance along with schoolwork. Personally, I do not think the college application process is fair because ultimately someone is looking at mostly numbers from GPAs and SAT scores and deciding your future in the matter of ten minutes. So much more can go into the college application process like personality traits or good deeds done by that student. After reading some of the students’ experiences, I feel somewhat hopeful that everything will end up working out. For instance, Mary Crawford’s story was hopeful because she expected not to get into her dream school but she ended up getting in and receiving a scholarship as well.

I plan on going to college. I’ve planned to, and to continue to work towards getting a pHD since I was eight and decided that I had to become Dr. Hall, and be the best there was at whatever I did. Now that I’m in high school, I’m still planning to do whatever I can to reach that goal, but just getting in to a school of my dreams is such a daunting process. I moved this year (my junior year) across the country and had to start over - new home, new people, new school, and that took a huge toll on me. My extracurriculars aren’t quite so consistent because not everything I used to do is available where I am now, so when I look at my resume I’m scared it shows me “giving up” instead of the love I had for those activities. Every school I want to go to is 1,300 - 5,000 miles away from where I live now, so I already know I’ll be applying to schools I’ll never get the chance to see. I will be visiting a few schools on the opposite side of the country - my very top schools, but I’m still worried I won’t know what the campus really feels like. There’s just so much fear that my grades aren’t good enough, that I can’t get the right scholarships, that student loans will crush me, almost to the point that I feel like giving up. But I won’t. And that’s the scariest part of it for me - how much is too much?

Applying to colleges and trying to find the right college for me is stressful enough, but the fear of not being accepted into my top colleges is what scares me the most. I spent weeks traveling across the country to find school that were the perfect fit for me, and now that I have I fear that I may not be good enough. It worries me that I may not have enough extracurriculars to stand out to a top school by only doing the activities I truly enjoyed and not worrying about if it is enough to please a university. Many kids will do activities that look good and not enjoy what they are doing, but I never considered that because I wanted to spend time on what I enjoyed. By not doing filler activities that look good but do not represent me to appear well-rounded puts me at a disadvantage because students will appear to be the “Perfect” student, when those activities do not reflect who they are. I also worry that my grades and test scores won’t compare to others who apply. Since I am applying to mostly out of state universities, I am already at a disadvantage getting into the school. Universities will only accept the top out of state students and I am nervous that I may not be good enough. While applying and (hopefully) getting into colleges can be exciting, it also brings a lot of worry and stress.

As a high school student almost done with junior year, it’s fair to say that even the topic of college itself is anxiety-inducing for me. Yet, the stress hasn’t been just for this year; I've thought about college since the end of eighth grade. Everything that I have done for the past three years: all the sleepless nights and all the hard work, it has all been for that acceptance letter from my dream school. Grades and test scores, however, worries me the most when I think of college. I have worked tirelessly for the past three years, and still I feel like my grades and scores aren't where I want them to be. My school is also very focused on things like GPA and ranking, and that doesn’t help with my anxiety. There have been moments when I've even been reduced to tears over my grades. Extremely competitive schools have this notion that their students need to be exceptional in every field, and I feel that no matter how hard I try I will never get there. They have this idea that you need to be perfect, and that's not something that I can ever achieve. It can be very disheartening--knowing that you did everything in your power and you still couldn’t succeed. It gives me and many students like me the feeling that we are not good enough. But I’m already at the end of my junior year, so there’s not much I can do about changing my GPA or my ranking. If my top choice does accept me, I think they will see that I'm a flawed human being, which in the end is for the best.

As my junior year begins to come to a close, I have become increasingly worried about what I am going to do with my life. I only took my first step regarding college this December: deciding what I want to do with my life. I want to be a dancer. I have danced almost my whole life and it is the only thing that I truly enjoy. However, despite my passion and dedication to dance, I worry that I might not be good enough. I compare myself to students who got into colleges for dance or who are already successful dancers. Then I bring myself back to square one: staring at a scheduled audition for a performing arts college in New York, wondering how bad I could possibly do on July 28th. The most stressful part about college to me isn’t applying just yet. What I am most worried about is deciding what I want to do that could possibly affect my whole life and career. I’m worried that what I think I am good at now, won’t be good enough to get into a college. The last thing that I am worried about is finding more colleges to audition for and apply for. Because I have an audition and I am interested in the school, I have a hard time finding other colleges that I could possibly enjoy more. Going into the summer and the fall, I hope to gain confidence and figure out what I truly want to do before I begin applying.

College is so unpredictable and ever so stressful. I am constantly finding myself either volunteering here, interning there, proposing a new idea here and maybe, getting then, getting a few minutes of much needed sleep in the end. But in no way am I condemning my actions and rejecting their validity. This world and colleges specifically have made it so people are nothing more than numbers. "1450 out of 1600 on the SAT.... eh.. no thank you.. rejected." "3.8 out of 4 GPA.... maybe but not sure" The truth is that students nowadays not only need to fit the academic criteria set forth but also, bend over backwards and obtain great success outside of school in order to even be considered. And that is all that students nowadays are defined by. It has become a never ending rat race. But that's exactly the way we have been conditioned to think. A great education means a great first impression at that first interview. It means more money. It means more happiness.