It is the troublesome time of applying for colleges that most high school seniors anxiously go through every fall. The time where it feels like every open ended question, every letter of recommendation being sent out, every award you ever received is the most important thing you will ever submit. Since the early action deadline just passed on Nov. 1 for several universities, the students at Damascus High School are here to give you advice for everything. 

The Common App is the website where almost all colleges and universities receive their applications from. The application includes open-ended questions and an inquiry about your personal background. This process is very time consuming, so it is best to break it up in weeks and not do it at the last minute where you probably will burn out. 

To help you all out, we got in touch with the career coordinator at Damascus High School, and in an engaging, informative interview, Axia Hernandez-Rubio gave her advice. The college and career center has “a lot of colleges who visit us each week especially during this fall semester” and they have “around three colleges visiting us on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.” Many colleges come from across the country and even all around the world such as Scotland. Many students “come with the idea that they want to attend college and the main question is where do [they] start.” 

Here are a few of the enthusiastic students at Damascus High who were more than happy to give their advice on how to go through college applications. One of these students is Emily McNicholas, who is a senior wanting to major in “animal sciences or biology on a pre-vet track.” McNicholas struggled to find a topic for the college essay and wished to start the application process sooner. Her college essay is about “animals and [her] love and desire to help” Emily advises Juniors when picking a topic to “find something you like and expand on it.” The way she chose her teachers for recommendation letters was to find teachers that connect in some way to her future major. She also advises students to build connections and ask for help during lunch with said teachers. She explains how it “feels kind of weird applying for colleges because I still feel like a kid, so therefore I don’t feel old enough to be applying for colleges and picking where I wanna go for the next four years, but it also feels really good knowing that I get to go to school to help pursue my future career dreams.” Some advice she gave to students was that planning will  “relieve the stress of the things you need to do, because that would give you more guidance of the things you need to do each day.” You will burn out if you do not make time to relax.

Another student named Jessica Lemus Reye , who is also a senior, is “double majoring in criminal justice and psychology or double majoring in psychology and anthropology based on which college.” Lemus Reyes’s college essay is about personal growth through the realization she had about her dream job as an FBI agent and how that affected her mental health as well as confidence. Some advice she gave was “your essay doesn’t have to be super dramatic or life changing to be considered unique. It just has to be special or unique to you which is what will make you stand out to admission officers.” Lemus Reyes struggled with starting the application process and asking for letters of recommendation. She advises to “choose your teachers based on how much you talk to them or ask them questions, and the amount of times you’ve had them as a teacher.” Considering this, it’s important to be friendly with your teachers but remember to not treat your teacher as a BFF and be unfiltered but like a friend that will share common interests. Also, don’t apply for college at the last minute, you will burn out and not be motivated.

If after understanding the process and having the knowledge of tips and tricks to get through this season you still are very stressed, it’s okay. Some other ways to find advice are YouTube videos, TikToks that have a platform based on college, and fellow students who are going through the same thing. You are not alone!