Written by: Danielle Limcaoco, 11
Seniors with charcoal eye bags walk down hallways in zombie-like steps. Empty coffee cups fill the already overflowing trashcans. Hardly any conversation between these overworked 12th graders passes without mention of college transcripts, SATs or the like.
This is ISM weeks before the college application deadlines.
The college application process is perceived in two different ways by the ISM High School student body: Seniors, all too familiar with the pressures associated with college, know the application process as a stressful, yet enlightening, undertaking, while the rest of high school only know of its daunting yet obscure reputation.
As Saruf Alam, a junior, so bluntly said, “[The College Application Process] is like running a race with blindfolds on, hoping your feet and sense of direction will carry you towards the finish line.” In witnessing the distressing struggle of seniors in their first semester of 12th grade, Saruf’s statement underscores how juniors perceive the college process to be scary and aimless. This is primarily because the juniors know that, in about a year, these seniors worrying and fretting over essays and applications, will be them.
In contrast to this perspective, 10th grader Lynn Kwon exemplifies the sophomore mindset regarding the college application program, as she expresses, “I’m thankful that I have two years to prepare for it,” but also adding, “I’m kind of worried for myself – I want to study hard for the SATs but there are too many good TV shows out there.”
Although sophomores and juniors may be aware of the complexities of applying to college, it is the freshmen who are truly in the dark. When asked about her thoughts on the process, freshman Samantha Borja simply replied, “…is it intimidating?” Oh the carefree lives of freshmen. Their time in high school has just started, colleges are the last things on their minds. They have to first learn how to survive high school before they can learn to depart from it.
In effect, although the college process is scary, it is not meant to be deleterious. Senior Andrea Fietcher sheds light on the true nature of this process, by describing it as “the cherry on top of the closing months of the IB programe – it is a constricting yet liberating experience in itself.” In a similar position, 12th grader Stuart Sy emulates this idea by stating, “By reviewing your application, you essentially see yourself compressed onto a few pages.”
Therefore, the college application is not the great, big, mysterious monster students must slay in order to graduate high school; it is in fact more of a mirror that reflects the person that different students have grown into over their experiences here at ISM.
