After 4 years of repeatedly hearing the same questions, there comes a point when you actually have to acknowledge them; what are you going to study? Are you studying abroad? Have you chosen a university?  For most, 12th grade is the dreadful year when they have to figure out what the next step is. Students must finally choose what career path to follow and which university is right for them.

The process of actually deciding what you want to study is extremely stressful. The pressure of making the decision that will change your life forever is one of the many reasons students choose to avoid it. That in itself is stressful, without accounting for the entire application process and finding the place that will best fit you as an individual and help you become the best version of yourself.

Applying for universities is an extremely treacherous process. The common app information that is required is extremely extensive and specific. Depending on the school, students must also prepare for multiple evaluations and accumulate enough credit to get accepted to the college of their dreams

Taking the next step

“The first step that you must take is one that requires most of your time. It also requires a lot of will to make the decision to study abroad. You must decide early on everything about leaving, what do you want to study, where do you want to study and everything that implicates studying abroad,” Julian Gomez, 12th grade TCS student, said.

Students have had their entire life to think and prepare for the toughest decision that they have to make in their school career, but they don’t actually start to work on it until tenth grade. Students that want to study abroad start looking at what the universities require and based on that they start to plan and fill out their resume.

“The application process starts at tenth grade, so what the 12th graders are doing right now is writing their essays there answering the questions if the universities have any specific questions they are filling in all the information in for either the common application or direct entrance to the university,” Maria Teresa Mejia, TCS college counselor, said.

To prepare for college students also participate in many extracurricular activities that help them stand out in front of the admissions board. Many play sports, instruments, do community service and join AP courses.

“Right now the only thing that I am doing is softball but during the years I’ve done community service and engineering workshops and things like that,” Samuel Vieira, 12th grade TCS student, said.  

Application process

The application process can be a really stressful one if you don’t manage your time wisely. Falling behind or starting late can pressure students into making the wrong decisions or not filling the applications to the best of their abilities.

“I started the applications really late so, for example, I have an application due next week and I don’t have anything, I don’t have my grades and it’s just a very important process in my life and I feel that I’m not prepared to take it,” Vieira said.

Deciding what you want to do after high school and what career path to follow can define the rest of your life. That’s what makes college applications such a significant and hard task. Consequently, students tend to complain that they aren’t given enough time for such an important process in their lives.

“I would definitely change that it’s a very rushed process, that you have to make firm decisions about it and you need to make them very quickly as the applications are generally due at the end of December which is not even half of the school year in,” Gomez, said.

What do universities look for

Universities vary greatly as to what they require and look for in students depending on which career they wish to pursue. However, most universities have the same basic requirements.

According to timeshighereducation.com, the basic requirements that every university have are: A positive attitude towards study, an ability to think and work independently, a passion for the chosen course subject, an ability to persevere and complete tasks, an inquiring mind, well-written english, and an ability to work well in groups.

“From what I’ve seen and what I’ve been required by the universities I’m applying to is some sort of essay or personal statement, your grades or some type of standardized tests like the SAT and some sort of language validation test. They primarily look for students that stand out from the others,” Gomez said.