College Application Season

Now that the school year is halfway over, many seniors at Orem high have applied to various colleges. The college application process can be stressful and feel overwhelming and confusing to sophomores and juniors. For them, applications may seem far away, but they always come sooner than expected.

The first step of college applications is choosing the colleges you’re interested in. This can be trickier than you might think. Each college is unique and offers different things that might make or break your experience. For those who aren’t sure what they want out of college, it can be difficult to choose which colleges to apply to. For Rebekah Padeken, a senior at Orem High, her mind was made up by the programs offered. She said, “I applied to four colleges… They were really the only ones in the state that had the program I wanted so I applied to them all to have lots of options”.

For others, the decision was based on the credits they receive from the AP classes offered during high school. “I decided to apply to UVU since I’m already receiving credit for it, and I would be guaranteed to keep that credit. The application process was also much easier, so I’m glad I avoided the stress,” states an Orem High senior, Alyssa Wintrell.

Like Alyssa says, college applications can be a huge source of stress for high school students, especially considering how most of the deadlines fall around the same time. Alyssa says, “In the beginning, before I knew anything, I was anxious. If I had to write an essay, I wouldn’t know how to start it, in all honesty… Though, after learning how the process would play out for concurrent enrollment students, most of my stress went away”. Concurrent enrollment and AP classes can be a big relief for students, as they can help get certain credits out of the way, then they can prioritize classes they’re interested in, and that count towards their chosen major.

Now that college application season is winding down, seniors can sit back and wait for acceptance letters. College essays and applications can seem scary, but with enough preparation, they can be very manageable.

Bio
Latest Posts

Lucy Howell

Lucy Howell is a senior at Orem High School. She loves to write, draw, and listen to music. Her favorite place in the world is Northern California. She wants to live there someday in a (hopefully haunted) brightly colored Victorian house. She’s happiest in the fall, and wishes every day were October. Lucy has been on the Tiger Times for three years. It is always the highlight of her school day!