Each year of high school brings new challenges, but the feat of making final decisions on a future education path and career is unique to senior year. With application season coming to an end and deadlines closing in, students reflect upon their experiences from shortcomings in the process itself to how applying for college has affected their mental health and everything else that goes into deciding their futures.

Important decisions like choosing which college to go can put a lot of pressure on students who may be struggling to keep up their grades and extracurriculars to be accepted into those schools in the first place. Senior Marlee Randel said that she has been affected by this stress, having to maintain her school performance in addition to meeting the high costs that are sometimes required to apply.

“[Applying] has stressed me out immensely and it’s really hard to manage applications while staying on top of school and everything else,” Randel said. “Every single thing you do in an application costs money, it honestly feels scammy…I wish schools would develop a neater and more straightforward way to apply.”

Senior Cally Hall is hoping to study to become a physical therapist and agrees that high stress may be common when applying for college. Nonetheless, she praises programs like ApplyTexas for providing an easier way to submit applications to multiple schools at once.

“I wish it was easier to get all your stuff organized for college apps,” Hall said. “I feel like there’s a ton of stuff to do and it’s all in different places which makes it super overwhelming. I like how on ApplyTexas you can fill out one application then copy and paste it to different schools.”

Randel looks forward to her future outside of high school studying Law or Cognitive Sciences, but she shares the opinion of many students that the applications process can be overwhelming and advises how to avoid taking on some unnecessary anxiety. She said that stress can creep in at any stage of the process and that taking measures not only to get all the forms done but also to increase your chances of acceptance to eliminate some anxiety while waiting for results is worth it.

“[Applying] has stressed me out immensely and it’s really hard to manage applications while staying on top of school and everything else,” Randel said. “Get started on stuff really early and complete it in increments rather than doing it all at once at the last minute, and try to have a couple of extra awards or titles to buff up your application.”

Senior Zoya Deen, who wants to study art education, explained that she took advantage of time when applying and believes that getting things done as soon as possible helped cut some stress for her.

“Start early,” Deen said. “I was done by September and stress free but everyone doing them at the deadline seems to really be struggling. [My stress level] was relatively fine and I was cool with doing the work for the applications, but the waiting really stresses me out and I just want to know now.”

Hall agrees that starting your applications early can be advantageous. She said that preventing mistakes, asking for help and giving yourself time to get organized should be a high priority.

“There’s a lot of stuff to figure out and get done, but the best way to go about it is to start early so if you run into any issues you have plenty of time to fix them” Hall said. “There are also plenty of people like teachers, siblings, and friends who are willing to help you out because they’ve all been there before, so don’t be afraid to ask.”

Even with all the effort that many students put into securing a spot for their education, there is no guarantee that everything will go smoothly. Deen said she has experienced firsthand that the system is not perfect and can be susceptible to error.

“One thing that happened with UTSA was that my application was finished and my transcripts were sent, but they lost my transcript,” Deen said. “It’s really stressful.”

While anxiety for the coming years seems unavoidable, it is not endured by seniors each year for no benefit. Hall said that the promise of a bright future helps balance any feelings of pressure.

“[Applications are] overwhelming and I feel like it’s all very important which increases my anxiety,” Hall said. “But it also is exciting and makes me hopeful for an enjoyable experience in college. I know everything will turn out okay…I really think it will be worth all the effort.”