Have Some Senior Year Stress, By Teen Contributor Riley Jensen

So, you know how everyone is always saying that your senior year is the “easy” year? They lied. I thought my junior year was bad for my mental health, but I was not prepared for whatever this year is.

First of all, why did nobody teach me how to apply for college? There’s no “what you need for college applications” class that’s offered. There’s like 17 different forms I have to fill out for each college application and I know how to fill out maybe 2 of them. I didn’t know this was going to be a game of “I wonder if they’ll think I’m committing fraud right now.”

Also, my teachers have definitely acknowledged that I’m filling out college applications, but they still give me more things to do over the weekend. So, I’m supposed to write a persuasive essay, annotate a book, take a test, and fill out a college application all in one weekend. That’s not stressful at all. I am so glad that I have all the time I need to put all of my effort into the applications that will determine the course of my life.

While we’re on the topic of college applications, I want to know who decided to make these college websites have 14 different links for the same application. First, you have to fill out the general information about yourself. Then you have to go to another tab to fill out your self-reported academic record. Then you have to go to another tab to submit your essay. Then you have to go to another tab to fill out the form for your actual major. Finally, you think you’re done, but you’re wrong. Once you get admitted you have to go to yet another tab to say that you’ll be attending that college. And there’s still more because you have to figure out housing, tuition, meal plans, and course information.

So, in conclusion, I have no time to fill out all of these forms that I really don’t even know where to find or how to fill out. At this point I’m just waiting for the email that says “sorry, but we will not be accepting you to this college because you forget to fill out the form telling us when your dog’s birthday is.”

Thankfully, I do have access to people who can help me with this whole process, but there are kids who don’t. They don’t have anyone giving them the information they need to write a good essay or telling them how to get a formal transcript. We need to help those who don’t have all of these resources, so when they’re ready to take the step towards college they’ll get in.

Riley, Teen Reviewer

I am a senior in high school and an avid reader. I have been reviewing books on this blog since 2012. I love musical theatre and listen to show tunes a lot. I also love murder books (both fiction and nonfiction), and want to go to college to be a forensic scientist after high school.

Filed under: College