With the end of the 2023-2024 school year in sight, Dripping Springs High School will soon welcome another class of rising freshmen, juniors, and seniors, anxiously preparing for the tedious and confusing college admissions system.
Various graduating seniors, who have experienced this taxing procedure firsthand, extend direction and counsel to nervous juniors, leaving behind more than just their high school career, but valuable knowledge to all underclassmen at DSHS.
“Some of the challenges in my college application process were because I qualified for a lot of military scholarships,” Senior Lauren Barnes said.“I wish I had been more organized at the beginning of my process and known before I started applying what I was qualified for instead of learning during my application process.”
Barnes also elaborates on her regrets about where she focused her efforts in her applications as well, providing insight specifically for rising seniors.
“Looking back, I think I concentrated all of my attention on my essay, and I wasn’t able to put as much effort into my short answer questions,” Barnes said. “If I had spent a few more hours working on those I feel like I would’ve done a little better.”
Through reflection on her personal experience, Barnes clears the air and advises underclassmen on what they can work toward to make this undertaking simpler.
“Focus on getting your volunteer hours in now, especially for the hours you need to qualify for whatever school you’re going to,” Barnes said. “Also make sure you have opportunities, clubs, and organizations that resonate with your major.”
The graduating senior continues to articulate what is important in the long run for extracurricular endeavors, especially for individuals who are at the beginning of their high school career.
“If you are a person who is in a lot of sports, I would start focusing on one of them for your last few years of high school, because being in everything isn’t going to get you everything at the end of it,” Barnes said, “If you’re able to concentrate on one thing and become team captain, and get all the leadership qualities that you need, you’re probably going to be better off.”
While Barnes suggests advice specific to her challenges throughout this chapter of her life, senior Wyatt Czerniec provides an alternative perspective on his experiences.
“I waited until the deadline to fill out all my college applications, so I was rushed at the end, I probably should’ve started earlier, that would’ve helped out a lot,” Czerniec said. “Get [your college applications] done as soon as you can, start early, and start in the summer because it’s a huge weight off your back.”
Czerniec suggests prioritizing diversity within your application instead of solely focusing on GPA and class rank, something he had realized throughout his process of applying to schools.
“My college applications were mainly focused on my extracurriculars, and that helped out with places that were looking for diverse students,” said Czerniec. “I did Boy Scouts, student council, and I’m a volunteer fireman.”
Raven Awosika, another graduating senior, also discusses her tribulations with these proceedings, especially when trying to present a diverse and profound application.
“The most challenging part of the application process for me was just trying to stand out,” said Awosika. “Trying to not get overwhelmed by how much of your life went on an application and answering the specific random questions some colleges may put on their application was also really difficult.”
Awosika opens up about the realities and redundancy of various applications in comparison and admits the difficulties in sounding genuine in writing her personal statement essay.
“It seems like nowadays it’s hard to find an essay topic that’s gonna make you stand out without sounding like a ( for lack of a better term) ‘pick me,” Awosika said. “I managed to find a topic because I wrote about something that reflected who I am and my actual experiences.”
Considering the miscellaneous factors that contribute to deciding on higher education, Awosika recommends stepping outside of what you are comfortable with when making this decision.
“There are so many factors when it comes to choosing a college like family location and money, but also going out of your comfort zone is extremely important,” Awosika said. “High School is a great place to develop, but college is where you can put that development to use and find yourself.”
Understanding the confusion around scholarship applications in particular, Senior Giana Albini shares her knowledge in hopes of helping incoming applicants with their experience.
“ I went down to Ms. Van Every’s office and she gave me a whole stack of scholarship applications that I’ve been filling out,” Albini said. “And, each college has a page dedicated to scholarships as well.”
Similar to Czerniec, Albini advises underclassmen to focus on building their resumes, so they can present themselves as diverse and multi-faceted applicants when the time comes.
“Extracurricular activities are so worth it because colleges like seeing kids with varied involvement,” Albini said. “I’m vice president of my grade, I’m in student leadership, I’m president of the dating violence awareness board, I’m a member of HOSA, NHS, kindness club, and young women’s club.”
Senior Zoe Constanza offers a transparent representation of how entering the college application process blindly can be overwhelming.
“There were several different points where I figured out that I did things wrong in the portals, or hadn’t submitted something because every school required different things, and there was very little guidance on that,” Costanza said. “I felt like until I got into the process, I didn’t even understand how it was possible because it’s such a long process.”
Costanza counsels underclassmen to stay open for revision from peers and professionals as well, instead of keeping their supplemental essays to themselves.
“I feel like my supplementals could’ve been a lot better if I wasn’t too embarrassed to get them edited, “Costanza said. “I didn’t let anyone read most of them, and I feel like I might’ve done a little bit better if I had passed them around.”
Constanza presents a final tidbit of advice for the underclassmen that she is leaving behind, admitting that the only person responsible for continuing and working towards your education is you.
“Your education is what you make of it,” Costanza said. “Just because you go to an elite school doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to get a good education or flourish there, so just focus on doing what’s right for you and being with people that make you happy.”
