Exeter Seniors Feel Early App Pressure

Admission to top colleges across the nation and abroad has escalated to a fiercely competitive process, with acceptance figures dwindling in the low single-digits for many schools. As a result, students have begun to increasingly consider an alternative route: submitting an early application. For those students who are confident about their first-choice school, applying early can improve the odds of acceptance.

According to Director of College Counseling Betsy Dolan, 73 percent of students from the class of 2013 applied early to college, and of the early applicants, 63 percent were accepted.

Despite the advantages of early application—its submission date is typically in early November as compared to January for regular applications—it places a heavy emphasis on seniors’ fall terms. Students are tasked not only with fulfilling the various components necessary for a common application, such as taking standardized tests and writing essays, but also with maintaining their academics and extracurricular involvement.

"I think that seniors feel the extra load of writing applications in the fall while also working hard on their courses and sports, music, and/or club activities," Sally Morris, head of the Classics department, said. "Seniors are also usually proctors or captains or club heads and have more time commitments than ever, just when they need to conclude their applications."

The prospect of managing a high academic standard and the completion of early college applications causes some students to feel overwhelmed.

"I feel like I never have any time to just relax. If I’m not doing work assigned for the next day, I’m working on essays for schools, [application] supplements or whatever else specific schools require."

"I feel like I never have any time to just relax. If I’m not doing work assigned for the next day, I’m working on essays for schools, [application] supplements or whatever else specific schools require," senior Calleigh Hunter said. "Lastly, I still have a lot of testing like the SAT and ACT to study for on top of everything. I personally feel like I can’t get on top of my work, and that causes me to get anxious."

History instructor Meg Foley senses the stress of seniors during the fall term. "Every fall prior to this one I have taught seniors in the fall course Capitalism and its Critics. Since many will be applying early and know that they probably won’t get in, the grades they get during senior fall do matter," Foley said. "I do think they are very stressed out, because writing college apps is like taking another class."

Nonetheless, there is no marked trend of seniors’ grades slipping during the fall term, according to Dolan. "Exonians tend to rally to the tasks at hand," Dolan said. "Seniors need to build into their schedule time for applications, drafting essays, and preparing for standardized testing as much as they prepare for coursework."Students who foresaw the daunting senior fall workload over the summer and planned their time accordingly, however, are not finding this term as challenging as others.

Senior Quinn Larkin, who is pursuing a classics diploma, predicted the heavy workload that taking Latin and Greek classes simultaneously would entail, and completed most of his college essays over the summer. "Now I have a lot more time to devote to my current school work without the added stress of applications looming over me," Larkin said. "I will also have enough time to enjoy my week off for Thanksgiving break without having to worry about my essays."

Senior JB Baker also worked on his application over the summer to avoid an excessive workload during the fall.

"It is tough to schedule school work and applications, but I was smart enough to get my essays and application done during the summer, which is really paying off [during] the term," he said. "It is really important that everyone be respectful and understanding because the college process can be really stressful because of the pressure to do well and finish all the extra work."

For recruited athletes, the application process starts to intensify in the beginning of September, when many athletes make frequent visits to college campuses to help make their final commitment decision. Compounded with working on the Common Application, some of these athletes find themselves working late into the night to finish everything.

Senior Sam Helms, who hopes to row crew in college, will apply early to the school he ultimately commits to. "I am missing almost all [of] the Fridays this month for recruiting trips, and so far, all [of] my teachers have been really understanding," he said. "But the applications and the visits suck up time at an alarming rate, and I find myself pulling late nights as a result of the work I put in on the Common App."

 The fall term also places strain on teachers, who must balance writing student recommendations for college applications with their usual commitments to classes, sports teams, families and dorms."I write anywhere from 10 to 25 recs per year, depending on how many uppers I teach the previous year or how many post-graduates I have in the current year," English instructor Christina Breen said. "I spend approximately one hour per rec, combing over paper and term comments, trying to capture the student with fresh and precise language. I personally have no problem writing these letters as they are way to help students out in the next stage of their academic careers, but it is time-consuming."The College Counseling Office now advises uppers to ask teachers for recommendation letters during the spring term of upper year, which allows teachers to prepare during the summer and assures that students will not run into problems getting recommendations."It’s wonderful that they encourage the kids to ask for recs earlier because now I can write them in the summer when I have a lot of free time," chemistry instructor Allison Hobbie said. "If somebody came to me very late with a week to go, I’d be likely to turn them down. However, these days it’s really rare. I’ve never had anybody ask me in the last minute, so I’ve never been in the uncomfortable position of saying no."