Stressed About the College Process?

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Emmalyn Brenner and Olivia Lautier

Applying to college can be stressful. Being a high school senior is not easy. College applications are time consuming and require a lot of hard work and dedication. Seniors at Shepaug are not immune to these woes, and are more than willing to share their experiences.

Kyle Lamay, a senior at Shepaug Valley School, is currently running cross country while balancing school work and college applications. 

“Starting the process early doesn’t hurt, and there is less stress put on you when you start school,” Kyle remarked. He recommends getting work done over the summer so it doesn’t become overwhelming when school starts. Though Kyle has not visited any colleges yet, he plans to do so in the upcoming weeks.

Something that helped him narrow down which schools to visit was deciding on a major. For Kyle, it is sports management.

“This helped me narrow down schools because I want a school that is known to have a great sports management program,” Kyle said. Many students go to college with an undecided major, but making a decision helps make it easier to decide on which colleges to visit.  

Alan Stinson, a senior at Shepaug is busy balancing soccer, talking to college coaches, trying to find the right college, and being part of the Spartan Club. He filled out the Common Application and talked to friends who have been through the process before to help alleviate the stress.

Alan, like Kyle, also wants to go into sports management.

“[Choosing a major] has helped me a little because some schools don’t have the program, so I didn’t look into it” Stinson says. “Visiting colleges and not waiting last minute to start the process is important too.”

When students visit schools, they get an idea of what life would be like on campus. Alan has visited two schools.

“I didn’t like the feeling of how far it was from home,” Alan claimed about the first school.

The second school was also a bust.

“The moment I stepped on campus I didn’t like the feeling,” he said.

Emmalyn Brenner, also a senior at Shepaug Valley, is visiting potential schools. She has many different after-school commitments and activities, which make the college process difficult. She rows for GMS everyday after school and has voice lessons once a week. Emmalyn visited a few schools prior to her Senior year, and then narrowed her selection down to three. She scheduled official visits with her finalists.

“It gives you a chance to get immersed in the culture and see if you like the surrounding area and the campus life, which is something you can’t experience through a screen,” said Emmalyn.

She went on to explain that going on a virtual tour is also beneficial before going on an actual tour.  

Emmalyn plans on majoring in advertising in college, so she researched schools that have great advertising programs and Division 1 rowing teams.

“Knowing that I want to major in advertising helps narrow my choices down to the schools with D1 rowing and advertising,” she claims.

Nobody’s process is the same. People are at different points in their journey, and it is important to get the Common App done early, consider possible majors and make physical visits to schools. Good luck seniors!