The college application process is something that a large majority of high school seniors in the United States go through each year; according to the Education Data Initiative, 62% of high school students go on to post-secondary school. The process has evolved greatly over the years, and it differs heavily from student to student. There are many different aspects of applying to colleges, from students being committed athletes to students going to service academies and trade schools.
Upper School English Instructor and College Counselor Mr. Richard Roper talked about what he has noticed has changed in the process of applying to schools over his 40+ year counseling career.
“I’ve noticed how much more complicated it has become, especially for students, but also for us [college counselors] to keep track of all the different elements that colleges want to get from us,” Roper said.
While there are many more aspects considered in a student’s application, the development of the internet is certainly a benefit to the college process. Instead of having to apply on paper, one can just input all of their information into one website, and then apply to all the schools from there. This website is called the Common App, and it simplifies the process by consolidating everything into one place. Students put their scores, grades, extracurriculars, and essays all in the application and can apply to any school all from there.
Mr. Ian Harkness, Malvern Prep’s Director of College Counseling, talked about some of the changes he has experienced throughout his twenty-two year career.
“In 2016, the SAT went from 1600 to 2400, then they went back down to 1600. In 2015, a new application site was created to rival the Common App, but only around 1% of applications across the nation are [being submitted] through that. Probably the biggest change has been the financial realities that colleges are facing. The decisions that applicants get are connected to the stability of the future of the college. Places that admit 5% have a pretty good long-term future because they have a ton of demand. Admissions brings in 80-90% of the school’s budget,” Harkness said.
Another thing that is different in the application process now is that schools have their own portals to apply. A student can apply through the common app, or they can go onto the schools portal and apply through there. There is not much difference between which one you do, except that when you apply through the school’s portal you already have an email address, and it is easier to view your acceptance. One example of this is at Ave Maria University in Florida, where Senior Institute Specialist Garrett Hallinan ‘19 talked about what his school does.
“You can apply to Ave Maria one of two ways: you can either apply through the Common App, which is pretty typical, and most schools have that as the only option, but at Ave Maria students can also apply through the Ave Maria website instead,” Hallinan said.
Harkness discussed the differences between applying to a school with a sports commitment as opposed to a normal application.
“The biggest difference is that the college you commit to has already given the blessing to the athlete before they even apply. A lot of students who are applying as committed athletes are only committed to the coach and the process of applying until the admissions office says they are good to go. Sometimes that comes early, and the admissions office looks at the transcript in junior year, and sometimes it comes later,” Harkness said.
Malvern senior and Duke University Lacrosse commit Michael Ortlieb talked about what it was like for him to go through applying to the school he was committed to.
“It was relieving to an extent. Obviously, only having to apply to one school was a huge relief, but we all knew we had to maintain our grades and effort. Our coaches did a really good job of emphasizing this and that we would be going through the application process like any other sport,” Ortlieb said.
The process of applying to Ivy League schools as committed athletes is slightly different from the typical athletic commitment. Malvern senior and Harvard Lacrosse commit Logan Turley talked about the small difference between the different schools.
“Yeah, it was kind of different; I had to go through an interview process, but other than that it was pretty normal, I still had to write supplementals, and fill out the rest of the application,” Turley said.
As a lacrosse player, it is also tough to go through the recruiting process. Recruiting for lacrosse starts in early junior year, so students are in some of their toughest classes ever while figuring out where they want to spend their next four years.
“The most complicated part of it all was the timing. It was the beginning of junior year, so classes were really ramping up, and it was during September, so we had to balance recruitment with getting into a rhythm with our classes. Along with that, the process is kind of condensed into a month, so you do not have a lot of time to make your decision,” Ortlieb said.
Applying to a military academy is a completely different world than the typical application process. Because of the rigor and toughness of being in the military, the application to the academies is equally as hard. The work that students have to do is double or triple what someone would do for any other school. Malvern senior Pieter Schwab talked about his experience applying to West Point and the Naval Academy.
“It is a ton more work than applying to a different school; you need to go through a very in-depth medical examination. One for your vision and one for everything else. You also need to get a nomination from either the vice president, a senator, or congressperson. To get the nominations, you have separate applications, including essays and interviews. I am still waiting for the government to approve my medical exam in order to finish my applications,” Schwab said.
While the process of applying to service academies is very tough and tedious, the process of the normal applications can still be a lot of work. The more schools you apply to just adds more work, colleges have supplemental essays that are a lot of work and the time you spend on applications add up over time. Malvern senior Ben Donohue talked about his long and boring experience of applying to fourteen schools.
“I applied to 14 schools, and it was definitely harder than I expected. Writing supplementals feels more and more repetitive over time and is pretty time consuming. There comes a point where you start to feel burnt out and just want the process to be over,” Donohue said.
Some students also decide they want to pursue trade school. There are various jobs that students pursue at trade schools, and one of Malvern seniors, Andrew Davis, intends to go into HVAC next year at a trade school. There are numerous trade schools around the country; the ones Davis is looking into are Penn Tech, Williamson, and Thaddeus Stevens. Davis spoke on what he has experienced looking into trade school and applying to go to one.
“What I have experienced through the process of applying to trade school is that the level of difficulty on the application is less than that of regular college applications. The difference between them is the amount of questions and writing you have to do. On some trade school applications, there may not be any questions and you might need to just send your school report card over as the deciding factor,” Davis said.
Malvern does a very good job to help prepare students for the college application journey. The school has set up weekly counseling classes for students to work on applications and ask counselors questions. The goal of this is so that students will feel less overwhelmed and stressed as application deadlines come up during senior year. Starting in junior year is when you start the counseling, so going into senior summer and first semester, students are well prepared. This strong aspect of Malvern has evolved with the college process. Roper talks about his experience of Malvern evolving.
“The sheer number of people that we now have is pretty astounding; there are now 6 of us who are involved in the college counseling process. So that in itself is a major change. The second thing that we’ve managed to do pretty well, in my opinion, is to utilize the technology available,” Roper said.
Another important thing to remember is that what you do does not need to be in accordance with getting into college. Oftentimes students think they should do a class or club just because it might look good on their transcript, but the important thing is doing things interesting to you that you will enjoy. Harkness spoke his mind on this issue.
“I hate the conversation about, will this look good on my college app? Yes, but do you enjoy doing it? I think what really works in getting a student in is where they genuinely feel a passion,” Harkness said.
The process of applying to colleges, or getting recruited to a school, is a hard and tedious journey for high school students to go through. Students need to stay patient through the process and be optimistic about results. In the end, everything will work out, Warren Ave and beyond!
