As the year goes by, senior students are currently stressed about looking into colleges and commencing their applications to get their future started, but new challenges arise with this pandemic.

By getting the help of school workshops, seniors take their time to avoid confusion. Other students are taking courses that have helped them get into college. Throughout the years in high school, students have been encouraged to attend college. As they begin to have serious talks, they fear they might fail, and they are afraid of having to mature. This is one of the reasons why stress starts to grow before applying.

Now that the world has changed and made online, our best friend, life has gotten difficult for students to apply and impress colleges (such as tests, extracurriculars, clubs, community service, etc.). It is the duty of students to make time to schedule their activities, which can also be done virtually. However, as time passes, there is less time for scheduling; applications open and close within a few months to officially complete.

The stress slowly increases as students have to keep up with announcements regarding opportunities for getting help. For instance, workshops allow all students of twelfth grade to observe and ask questions. Two students from Anaheim High school have been told to attend workshops. These workshops give financial aid information, advice for personal insight questions, and other necessary subjects that applications include. Student, Gustavo Garibay, has also informed me that he is thankful for participating in the AVID program. “AVID has been my biggest resource since ninth grade, as it has given me more specific information. I feel very prepared for these applications. Even though workshops are also very useful, AVID has done so much for me and others who are also in that course.”, he says. While a non AVID student assists the workshops, he states that they have helped him. Ian Godinez comments, “Workshops have taught me more information than my regular teachers. Although it isn’t a requirement for them to make sure and tell us more about it, I believe they should because not everyone works independently.”

This leads to a problem others might have. It’s fortunate that both students, Garibay and Godinez, have the help of teachers and older siblings who have also gone through the same process. This makes it a bit easier for them because they only have to worry about getting additional information. Though this year might be different, they still have to double-check to ensure nothing in the application is missing. During application season, students know they must improve their qualities. Gustavo has mentioned that he regrets not doing more activities in his previous years. He states, “ I wish I had participated in a variety of different clubs to have a better resume. At the same time, other students like Ian wish so too. Ian mentions the same and adds on to the fact that “COVID has made it impossible for most of us to do more. I am scared that college won’t find an interest in me because I waited until the last minute, but now I can’t do anything. I am stuck with the few traits I have done.”

Lastly, Gustavo and Ian were asked what their current mental health was like. Both state that it was a stress for most students because teachers rarely mentioned anything about applying. If anything, they would wait until days before the deadline, leaving the students stressed. Although deadlines are not due until next month, it is still best to send applications as soon as possible. Ian says, “I feel like it should be necessary for the teachers to tell the students immediately to start applying before the deadline because some students like to begin early and some wait till last minute.” Many students prefer to start their applications soon to go over them later and submit them. Teachers need to recognize that a little time of college preparation can be helpful. Gustavo ends his question with, “It is a priority for teachers to care for their students? As their students are living through a pandemic in their last years, I believe they should be getting more attention regarding their applications. “