By Marilyn R & Samantha P, staff writers
College applications are one of the most stressful parts of being a high school senior because of how long it takes. The time and effort you put into them and trying to get them done as soon as possible or waiting up until the last minute. We at the Galileo Press ask high school seniors “Since you have started your college APS what were some difficulties you faced doing it? And what were your expectations going into it?”
“One difficulty that I had while doing college apps was thinking that I wasn’t good enough to go to school. The thought that there were definitely smarter people than me kind of put me down and it was tough for me to keep my morality up. My expectation was that it was going to be a big battle and it was going to negatively affect my energy level and health”.
Jonathan C, Senior
“The hardest part was to romanticize the struggles I went through and highlight my strengths through them. The expectation of connecting with yourself and writing a story while also writing it formally was difficult to balance. I expected that it would be a lot more time-consuming and that I would end up writing it at 3 in the morning the night before it was due but I had a momentum that started earlier and followed through for the rest of the process”.
Ezra A, Senior
“For me, doing the P.I.Q.s was the hardest part. I didn’t have much of anything interesting that was asked within the questions. Also filling out the other general information was pretty hard because of the weird scheduling with my parents. My expectations going into college apps were that it would be a lot harder and more demanding than it truly was”.
Joshua C, Senior
“Difficulties were finding out the information on my parents like where they went to college and what degree she had. Some expectations I had were that they only wanted my grades and like the essays and what I had achieved. Instead/ on top of that, they asked me more in-depth questions about what challenges during covid and what was my mindset and covid related stuff”.
Jarvis T, Senior
“Some difficulties I faced were writing the P.I.Q.s and getting all the information for the first part. I did expect the rigorous essays and paperwork going into it”.
Isabella H, Senior
“I finished my college apps but UC Merced extended their applications till January 6 so I’m doing that right now. I expected my application would have been easier but they put in so much information it was overwhelming. Like my parent’s information and my information, what classes I took during my freshman, sophomore, and junior years, taxes questions ( I don’t know anything about taxes btw) I had to call my mom for help but she didn’t know either so I had to ask some friends”.
Lourdes V, Senior
“Some difficulties it’s just like I had a lot of trouble finding the time and the place to do the stuff. As well as some expectations are just like- I didn’t think I would be able to finish it, my expectations were extremely low. But I’m happy enough I was able to persevere through it and finish it”.
Sam P, Senior
“Some difficulty I had was figuring out how to use and submit my stuff to my common app and I finally figured it out after I did it was pretty easy. OH essays finding good prompts to send for my essays and really sitting there and talking about myself cause I don’t like talking about myself. I was expecting to send in an APS at the last minute on the last day and had the app crash trying to submit my APS and it lost one of my essays. It’s fine though”.
Kamiyah M, Senior
