Seniors are already knee-deep in college applications, while others haven’t even begun at all. College-bound seniors can agree, the thought of applying to a college can be stressful, but C.O.O.L counselor Tenille Roberts is here to help give clarity and explain what to think about when you’re applying.
The first step, she said, is for students to narrow down what they’re looking for in a college.
“It helps if they have an idea of some of the schools that they’re interested in,” Roberts said. “There are so many options and opportunities available that having a small group of schools ready is such a great start.”
Roberts recommended that students consider beyond just the reputation of a school.
“When you’re looking for colleges, one of the things you need to do is look at what they offer for what you want to major in,” Roberts said.
She explained how there is some pressure associated with the application process, and that it’s natural.
“The majority of the stress is really just because this is a new process to them,” Roberts said. “It’s something that they’ve never experienced and never really invested time in. It takes them a minute to grasp the concept, and then a lot of that stress and fear goes away.”
Senior Cayden Lawson has applied to UT Austin, Texas A&M and OU. Lawson said to keep from stressing out while applying, he came up with a system to manage his time wisely to get everything done.
“On the weekends, I would go to the library,” Lawson said. “And I would do a certain breakdown, like work on essays for an hour, and then look at different colleges and see what they had there.”
Senior Amy Muñoz has already been accepted to Tarleton University, Baylor University and the University of Texas at Arlington, and she explained how she felt when applying to those schools.
“It was not that stressful,” Muñoz said. “You didn’t have to write essays for those, so it wasn’t that bad.”
Some students don’t know when is a good time to start applying, but Roberts explained the best time to begin.
“Early fall of your senior year is when you should start applying,” Roberts said. “Some things you need to take into consideration before your senior year are your GPA, your grades and taking college classes.”
Many seniors worry that if they wait too long to start applying, then it might be too late, but Roberts affirms that this is not true.
“It’s never too late,” Roberts said. “Some schools have certain deadlines, whether it be an early deadline, or their traditional deadline or a late deadline. Other schools have rolling admissions, which means it never really closes. Those are things you want to pay attention to.”
Roberts gave insight on scholarships, and where to find them.
“Scholarships are kind of year-round,” Roberts said. “A great place to go is the Azle High School website, and then you click on ‘Administration,’ and from there, you click on the C.O.O.L. adviser and there’s a link to all the scholarships that I currently know of. You can also go to scholarships.com.”
Senior Emily Smith has already been accepted into Hardin-Simmons University and Tarleton, and she said maintaining a good GPA saved her lots of stress when she started her applications.
“I have automatic admission because my SAT scores were good and my GPA was good,” Smith said.
Roberts said it is important to maintain good grades and that students are also allowed two college tours a semester with the C.O.O.L. program and two by themselves.
Most importantly, she wanted to stress that students shouldn’t be afraid of asking for help with their applications or with how to get started.
“I’m always available,” Roberts said. “If you have one question or an assortment of questions, then feel free to stop by.”
