Seniors reflect on the college app process

As seniors celebrate graduation, juniors frantically stress over the dreaded college applications that lurk just around the corner.

After surviving one of the most stressful years of their high school career, seniors shared some insights that will ease the process.

Step one: Make a well-thought list of colleges to apply to.

Senior Nick Chow, who will be attending Princeton University, selected colleges to apply to based on his interests in history and economics and his research into schools’ programs.

“Before even researching colleges, also, I had a good idea which schools had strong programs,” Chow said. “I also got a lot of advice from students who applied to colleges in the years before me and family friends who gave me helpful tips on applying.”

In addition to seeking schools with strong theater programs for the major she was interested in, senior Zofia Trijullo, who will attend Barnard College of Columbia, paid attention to many small details about certain aspects in the schools that made the difference. 

“Doing research and visiting is super important to make sure that each college you're applying to has what you're looking for,” Trijullo said. “Everything is important even if it seems small; I ended up not applying to a couple schools because I didn't like their dining halls.”

Senior Austin Du, who is going to University of Pennsylvania (Penn) in the fall, chose the majority of the schools he applied with the help of a college counselor as well as experience from his brother, who is three years older than he is. Du was especially impressed by Penn’s psychology department and interdisciplinary course policy, which was a factor that solidified his decision to apply.

“I specifically chose to apply early decision to Penn because my brother did the same thing,” Du said. “When he was in the application process, I usually attended Penn seminars and read the same fliers.”

Step two: Write college essays, early. Essays are notorious for keeping seniors locked in their rooms or up late at night.

Du found his material through a Medical Explorers youth group at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center that he signed up for. Though it was a small time commitment, the group let him give a speech at the Rotary Summit Center, which became the subject of his Common App essay.

According to senior Mandy Lee, who is going to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), honesty comes before anything else when it comes to writing college essays.

“Just be truthful. Don't try to pretend you're someone you're not just because you think that's what an admissions office wants to hear,” she said.

Trijullo said throughout her four years of high school she took advantage of the opportunities presented to her in order to do what she loves — theater. This factored into her college application, where she had a very strong portfolio that reflected her passion.

Step 3: Build good relationships with teachers.

“It’s [very] fulfilling to develop a lasting relationship with a teacher because you can learn so much in their classes and they also provide an engaging dynamic perspective on things you’re learning about,” Chow said.

For his college letters of recommendation, Chow did not strategize according to which teachers were known to be better letter writers, but chose the ones who he thought understood him well and knew what his interests are.

In the end, however, getting into college is just another stepping stone, and seniors advised that students should avoid getting too caught up in the admissions process.

“Seize every opportunity and get out of the house — this applies for college and for being an interesting person in general,” Du said. “Grades are important, but many people end up ruining their senior year because they detach themselves from social events during their junior year and never learn how to be a normal teenager again.”