As the fall semester reaches its end, seniors enter one of the most hectic times of the year: college application season. With long essays, scholarship forms and demanding coursework, many students find it difficult to manage their time and energy while trying to plan their futures.
Senior Muhammad Arham said that the process of applying to colleges has been more draining than he expected. Between his AP classes, extracurriculars and after school responsibilities, it’s been hard to find time to sit down and complete his applications.
“It’s just managing schoolwork with applications so far,” Arham said. “You get tired a lot, and then you don’t have time to fill out your application.”
Arham plans to major in mechanical engineering and hopes to work in an engineering firm after college. He has already applied to the University of Houston and Texas A&M University, and is still working on his University of Texas-Austin application. The process, he said, requires both patience and persistence.
Despite the stress, Arham said he feels motivated by what’s ahead. For him, college represents both opportunity and change.
“I’m most excited for the freedom college will bring,” Arham said. “However, staying away from my family will definitely be a challenge.”
That mix of excitement and uncertainty is something many seniors share. For some, this is the first time they are making decisions completely on their own, decisions such as: choosing schools, majors and future paths without the structure of high school life.
Senior Sudais Sohail said he has faced similar challenges trying to balance his college applications with his coursework. He plans to pursue mechanical engineering, with hopes of working in aerospace engineering one day.
“I’m applying to UH, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M, because they’re pretty good engineering-wise, and they’re pretty close,” Shohail said.
Sohail said the amount of information each application requires has made the process especially difficult.
“There’s a lot of content you have to fill out yourself, like essays, scholarships and short answer questions,” Shohail said. “Each college has different sections for things like honors and short answer questions, so it takes a lot of time to get everything done.”
Still, he said the experience has taught him how to stay organized and manage his time, skills he knows will be important in college.
“I’m most excited for the independence I’ll have in college,” Sohail said. “What I’m most scared of is the harder coursework.”
Both students said that while the process can be exhausting, it also feels rewarding. Each essay, application and deadline is another step toward the next phase of their lives.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Arham said. “But at the end of the day, we all just want to get somewhere where we can begin the most fun time of our lives.”
