A New Generation of College Applicants

Julianne McGee
Jul 25, 2017 · 4 min read
Photo: Texas A&M Department of Educational Psychology: Graduate Admissions

You can say two words to any high school senior to sky-rocket their anxiety: college applications.

They’ve spent their entire high school careers building their resumes with extracurricular activities, high scores on SAT and ACT exams, and report cards chalked full of advanced classes and honors courses. When it finally comes time to apply to their colleges of choice, many high school seniors wonder, “Did I do enough?”

I am in the midst of the college application process myself. I’ve taken both the SAT and ACT and have spent hours studying for AP tests. My spring break and long weekends were spent touring various universities around Texas. Right now, my free time is filled with preparing essays, filling out online forms, and collecting all the necessary documents to apply.

“When applying to college,” Burleson resident Jennifer McGee, my sister and sophomore at Louisiana State University, said, “I thought I would have a hard time navigating a college campus since it’s so much larger than a high school campus. I was also worried about campus safety.”

Applying for college has not always been such a dreadful, anxiety-ridden experience.

“There is a lot more competition in college applications than in the 1980’s,” Jodi Lynn McGee, Jennifer’s mom and Texas A&M University graduate, said. “I don’t recall how we got the application, but I do remember filling them out and mailing them to the university.”

Another stressful piece of the process is choosing the universities at which to apply. Some students have a school they dream of attending, but others still can’t pick even a few universities to attend. Because of this, campus tours have become increasingly popular.

“We didn’t go on highly scripted campus tours like students do today,” Jodi Lynn said of the difference. “I just picked a school and applied!”

The National Association for College Admission Counseling’s 2015 College Application Report says the number of first-time freshmen applying increased by 6.2 percent between 2014 and 2015. This statistic is good news for colleges because it gives the university a more diverse applicant pool.

However, just because more students are applying doesn’t mean more students are being accepted. Universities simply don’t have the capacity or resources to house the same percentage of students as in previous years, so acceptance rates have gone down. This makes the schools seem more desirable, and even more students apply the next year.

This endless cycle only makes it more challenging for students to be admitted at highly selective universities, such as Ivy League schools or even the “public Ivies.”

“With the increase in numbers of students applying,” Jodi Lynn said, “The competition to get into a specific university or a specific major within the university is fierce.”

Stress from the college application process is severe for many high school seniors, and parents can easily add to this stress unknowingly. Many parents push their children to meet deadlines, get good test scores, and create an appealing picture of themselves through the application without realizing they are only increasing their child’s anxiety.

“Parents are stressed out and worried we will make a mistake that will cost our child their future,” Jodi Lynn admitted. “However, now is the time to just be a refuge. Most of the kids applying to college are more stressed than we realize, not to mention their unspoken fears and worries about leaving home.”

However, if families are educated on the college application process, it’s not nearly as frightening as it seems. There are many resources available to learn more about the modern college application process.

“I found multiple sources to be helpful,” Jodi Lynn said. “Frank Bruni’s Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be was an invaluable source for learning how to keep the college admissions mania in balance. We also attended campus tours and prospective student sessions at each university our oldest daughter, Jennifer, applied to in order to learn more about the application process.”

“Tour as many schools as possible,” Jennifer said. “Attend sporting events if possible. A college football or basketball game is one of the best ways to see how the student body interacts with one another.”

The most helpful resource for me in deciding which universities I was interested in applying to was social media. For each university I was interested in attending, I followed the university, the specific college my major was in, and the student government on Twitter. By doing this, I was able to see how each university was marketing itself and what the student body valued. This helped me narrow down my choices and decide which universities I could see myself at for four years.

“Campus life and the culture of the student body make this the most unique four years of your life,” Jodi Lynn said. “You should spend it somewhere you can really see yourself enjoying life.”

For those who already know exactly what university they want to attend, filling out the application is the most nerve-racking piece of the process.

“I highly recommend making a resume before you apply on Apply Texas,” Jennifer said. “It’s very easy to forget things and a resume helps you remember important awards and volunteer experience.”

Essays are also a significant part of the college application. Apply Texas allows applicants to only submit a certain number of extracurriculars and volunteer experience, so it’s important to showcase in the essay what didn’t fit into the application — such as your personality, background, and your dreams or aspirations. It’s the time to be creative and show the university you are unique.

The college application process seems daunting, but it becomes more manageable when students use the resources they’re given to research universities and learn more about the application process. Applying for college shouldn’t be a stressful experience. It should be exciting, as you are taking steps toward creating your own future.

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