New school year means a new year of college applications

As the new school year begins, York seniors have one more thing to look forward to, applying to college. 

The college application process is a strenuous one that most seniors dread doing. Filled with stressful questions, essay prompts, and letters of recommendation, filling out college applications brings more stress then most seniors need on a daily basis. Luckily, York has the College and Career Resource Center (CCRC), filled with many resources available to help the seniors in need.

“There are a lot of resources available in the Google Classroom and a ton of videos on really any questions that seniors may have,” CCRC counselor Amy Thompson said. “It is everyone’s first time applying to college, so I know a lot of questions will arise during the whole process.”

With the challenges that this York senior class has gone through, mainly a pandemic that interrupted half of their high school career, the process this year may look a little different than some in the past.

“Obviously the pandemic has made applying to college a little interesting, but some of the things are still the same,” Thompson said. “This year, I am noticing there is a wider gap between people who are on top of things and those who aren’t. It concerns me a little bit, but I know by the end of the day, the people that really want this will have it.”

Seniors this year are also feeling the stress from upcoming deadlines, while also juggling the school work from being a senior. 

“The application process is a lot more rigorous than I really thought it would be,” senior Mathilde Cronin said. “Juggling this and other extracurricular activities has definitely been more challenging than I thought it would be, but I think after applications are in, my stress levels will definitely lower.”

While some seniors are stressed about deadlines, others have a calm mentality when thinking about applying. Some are ahead of where they need to be, and are taking advantage of the time and resources given by the CCRC. For a select few seniors, they have already been admitted to schools, and are able to not worry about college for the rest of the year. 

“Honestly getting into my dream school this early into the school year has been so good for my mental health,” senior Emma Lind said. “I don’t have to stress about college applications any more, and it will definitely make my senior year more enjoyable.”

Whether or not seniors have already been accepted into college, or are just starting the process of applications, applying is a stressful process, so doing things to make life a little easier during this time is crucial to seniors. 

“It is annoyingly more complicated than it needs to be, but dedicating an amount of time is vitally important to staying sane during this hard time,” Thompson said.