College applications are generally very stressful for all seniors. Writing essays, filling out the same information over and over again, and asking for letters of recommendation from teachers can be overwhelming. Clicking ‘submit’ on the last application is a freeing feeling. However, for some students, the college application doesn’t end there.

For many students, to continue their education in their field, there are extra requirements for admission to schools. Tatum Langley, a senior who is planning to major in musical theater, has had to audition at ten schools, and will not know where she has been accepted until about a month before Decision Day.

“The audition process has been really long and strenuous,” said Langley. “It’s hard when most of your schools’ acceptance rates for musical theater are well under 10 percent, and it’s a difficult waiting game. I did about ten auditions, all of which were good experiences! Preparing for auditions was also a whole other ballpark because everything has to be right: what shoes you wear, how you walk in the room, what songs you sing, etc. It’s been a lot of work, but it’ll all be worth it.”

Langley has yet to hear back from most of her schools and hasn’t even finished auditioning at all of them. She is looking forward to being finished and committing to the next four years of her life.

Zoe Lawless, senior, also had some extra work to do. As a lacrosse player, she had to deal with recruiters watching her play and began looking for colleges as a freshman.

“The application process was the easiest part of my college search because I only had to do one,” she said. “As easy as that sounds, recruiting for lacrosse starts super early so I had to start seriously looking at colleges my freshman year.”

Earlier in the year, Lawless committed to play Division 1  Lacrosse at the University of Colorado – Boulder, after playing many games for recruiters and constantly practicing and attending camps.

“Honestly, the recruiting process was absolute hell,” Lawless said. “I started going to recruiting tournaments and camps freshman year. That was pretty much my whole summer for all of high school: traveling, playing, and talking with coaches. Finally committing over the summer was so rewarding, especially since it was my childhood dream school!”

It’s not just athletes and performers that have to go through a long process to be accepted to college. Visual arts students have to submit portfolios and interview for admissions counselors before being accepted. Mei Giuffre, senior, is all too familiar with this process.

“For a fashion major, I had to do a portfolio of my work–pictures of me doing work as a bridal consultant,” said Giuffre. “I also had to do three FaceTime college interviews with admissions from London since that’s where I mostly applied. The interviews were surprisingly much easier than writing the essays. The admissions people were able to get a sense of who I really was a person rather than words on paper.”

Giuffre will be majoring in Fashion Merchandising/Marketing in the fall and is in between the University of London Arts and Laboratory Institute of Merchandising (LIM) in New York City. She hopes to continue working as a bridal consultant in the future.

“I love my job,” she said. “Basically I pull dresses out for future brides and help them find the perfect one. It’s so exciting when they say yes because they are glowing. I love knowing that I helped make their special day just like they had dreamed since they were little girls. It’s the best feeling.”

Preparing for auditions, recruiters, and interviews are stressful and overwhelming, but these students are hardworking and willing to do whatever it takes to continue pursuing their passions.