Chloe MacGillvray
Staff Writer
With the year coming to an end, seniors are becoming more and more anxious awaiting college decisions. Many seniors decided to apply early decision (binding) or early action (non-binding) to their top schools. After applying early, seniors can typically expect a response before the end of the year. Common dates for many decisions are Dec. 15 and 16, making these two days some of the most important this year for many people in the class of 2017. Acceptance to a top school means the world to any senior, making many extremely nervous for the month of December.
Some seniors have complaints about the college process. Anna Lengner says, “Guidance counselors can be slow and sometimes do not provide enough information about when to send in test scores.”
Despite what many seniors think, the college process for counselors is extremely tedious. Every transcript that is sent out is hand-checked before arriving at any school. GPA’s are also hand-checked to be sure that everything sent out is accurate. Transcripts cannot be sent to schools on the Common Application without including letters of recommendation, school reports, and a school profile. If the letters are not complete, the transcript will not be sent. Guidance suggests asking for letters to be written early, so that teachers are allowed enough time to write an accurate letter. Test scores should also be sent in as soon as possible to avoid any conflict later. About 1,018 transcripts have been processed this year alone, and all GPA’s had to be converted to a 4.0 scale by hand before being submitted. Changes to Naviance have also slowed the process down. However, Lengner also shared some positive aspects of the process and even gave some advice: “The Common App website was easy to use, and I suggest that future seniors not wait until two weeks before to send applications. Do it as soon as possible!”
When asked about how she personally feels waiting for December feedback, she said: “I’m obviously extremely anxious, however I’m very happy I already got into my two safety schools! Getting into my safety schools makes me feel more secure.”
Despite how many seniors feel, Jacob McCloskey said, “I was terrified of the college process going into it, but coming out of it I’m finding that it was not nearly as bad as I thought. I like how the college websites have portals that update you about status updates on your applications and what you need to have completed. Waiting for responses is nerve-racking yet exciting.”
Overall, seniors are hoping for the best as they begin to receive decisions from their favorite schools.
