As the seniors at Lake High School start to apply for their dream schools, the anxiety rises. Are they ready?
Six of Lake’s seniors were interviewed and asked to answer questions regarding where they are in their application process: Taylor Lewis-Conley, Matthew Higginbotham, Katherine King, Deanna Hayes, Berkley Rhodes, and Lindsey Gotham all agreed upon one thing: the senior class feels they do not have enough resources.
King summarized that there seems to be a lack of communication from the Counseling Office regarding due dates and scholarships.
Many seniors are ready to submit their applications to colleges but are waiting on their transcripts from the counseling office. Out of the six students interviewed, four of them either wanted to go to Ohio State University [OSU] or Ohio University [OU]; these two schools seem to be the top choices amongst the class of 2024.
One similar piece about both schools: seniors must know how to work the Common App[lication]. The Common App is a universal undergraduate college application site that applicants may use to apply to over 1,000 colleges and universities in all 50 US states. There are 6 different sections that must be filled out: profile, family, education, testing, activities, and writing. Each of these has a series of questions that are quite time-intensive.
“It’s very confusing, there’s a lot on there to do, and there are not good directions on how to do it,” stated Berkley Rhodes.
The Common App seems to be a challenge among the senior class. Rhodes spoke on her wishes that the staff here would’ve taken the time to explain it in detail.
Although many seniors feel overwhelmed, there have been a few staff members that have assisted them in their journey. A few worth naming are: Ms. Sargiovanni, Mr. Delap, and Mr. McCoy.
“Sarg[iovanni] is a really good teacher because she’s one of the only teachers I’ve had in my high school career that actually pushed me to better myself and actually put 100 percent effort into all my assignments. She made sure I was ready for absolutely everything that came my way. She is overall a really really good teacher,” said Taylor Lewis-Conley.
Lewis-Conley expresses that Ms. Sargiovanni is one of her favorite teachers. She enjoys the way she pushes her to do her best. Gotham and Rhodes both agree.
“Mr. McCoy is a teacher who values the relationships he makes with his students over anything else, he makes it a priority to get to know me and my friends. He always asked questions about our lives outside of school, truly wanting to get to know his students. He has been a person for me to vent to and is always there to listen,” expressed Katherine King.
King expresses how thankful she is to have had the chance to get to know Mr.McCoy. Hayes also said that he was a teacher who stood out to her throughout high school.
“Mr. Delap has always been there for me whenever I needed help. He encourages his students to give their best effort in all areas of life,” stated Deanna Hayes.
Hayes and King both agree that Mr. Delap cares about not only his students’ school lives but also their well-being and futures.
Out of the six students interviewed, five took the ACT sometime during their sophomore year and they all took it again their junior year. Besides King, they were not prepared while taking the ACT sophomore year but studied hard for the second time.
Everybody makes mistakes, our seniors wanted to take a moment to give some advice to their fellow underclassmen.
“Have fun and don’t take things too seriously. I wish I would’ve gone out more instead of spending every day doing homework and studying. I strongly recommend working in the summer” Rhodes emphasizes to underclassmen.
Lewis-Conley stresses the importance of keeping your mental health first. She recommends taking as many honors and CCP (College Credit Plus) classes as possible while remembering to take care of yourself.
For those currently planning their next application step, the ACT will be offered on December 9, 2023, with a registration deadline of November 3, 2023. Seniors looking to apply to college should do so by December 1 for the best possible chance at admission and scholarships.
