As a senior this year, there have been many new things that I have had to adjust myself to in order to be successful. The strangest, for me, have been college applications.
As we grow up, we’re taught that college is a big, scary place, and you have to be mature enough to handle it if you’re ever going to make it. Now, I have every requirement needed to get accepted into the schools that I apply for. I have a 4.0 GPA, a good record, and plenty of organizations I have been part of during my career as a student. Colleges aren’t even considering ACT scores as part of the admission requirements for the upcoming freshmen with the pandemic protocols cancelling many of the testing dates.
However, no matter how “certain” you are to get accepted, the college application process is still quite intimidating. There have been nights where I stay awake checking and double checking my applications, making sure there is no fatal error in which they can possibly reject me. Applying online is a strange process, as one mistaken click can lead to grounds for dismissal for “academic dishonesty” if not caught early on. As if the entire process wasn’t intimidating enough, those who were relying on senior year achievements in order to be accepted are left wondering what they’re supposed to do. Band and choir competitions were cancelled, many sporting events were unable to occur, and most clubs are on hiatus until further notice. Are colleges going to see past these unprecedented occurrences, or will students be held liable for not knowing we should’ve gotten everything done in the two and a half years prior to the pandemic? Many questions are being left unanswered as no one still fully comprehends what is going on.
As a recommendation to the junior class of this year, I would suggest you still attempt to squeeze into an ACT testing date to potentially get it out of the way. Even if colleges still aren’t looking at the score for acceptance, there are many scholarship opportunities available for getting a decent score, and since everything is still so uncertain, it’s better to plan ahead.
