As college decisions filter in, many senior students go through a process to get there. Earlier during their senior year, students started the college application process, which varies from person to person, creating different outcomes/paths that benefit each person individually.
Many students used Common App, an app that simplifies the application process by consolidating roughly 1,000 higher education institutions.
“You just input a lot of information about yourself and your family, your grades, the activities you do so that colleges can get a good look at the whole picture,” senior Isabella Murphy said. “You don’t have to keep retyping it, which is nice.”
Others applied directly to a college or university, without using the Common App.
“I applied directly to the school because my mom kind of forced me to start applying before school started,” senior Phoebe Ledbetter said. “I mean, I don’t know how it would have gone through Common App, but it was easy because I didn’t write a lot of essays.”
Even before students start to apply to college, they visit campuses to get an idea about the characteristics they want in a university. Where CHS students applied and how many colleges they applied to varied based on the preferences they established.
“So when I was applying to colleges, I tried to cast a pretty wide net to begin with, so I had backups and then I had reach schools, but mostly I was looking to apply to schools within the big 10 because I know they’re known for academics,” Murphy said.
Some graduating seniors looked within the state of Michigan and didn’t apply to as many due to factors like the price of college tuition, staying close to home, and some others.
“I applied to Alma College in Alma, Michigan. I was looking for something that wasn’t super big so that I could connect with the teachers and stuff and I got into their marching band which is also something I wanted,” Ledbetter said.
The seniors who were interviewed were asked to offer advice or words of encouragement to those who are starting the application process.
“Don’t stress too much about it, like stress enough to where you get it done before the deadline,” Ledbetter said.
