College application season is always difficult for both students and their parents, whether it’s finding what school is best for you, sorting out your resumé or getting letters of recommendations from teachers. 

I sat down with Loyola University Chicago alumni, Tiana Thompson, to discuss her personal application experience leading up to her four years in college. She was a double major in dance and English, while also minoring in Black World Studies. 

When asked about her journey discovering what she wanted to pursue as a career, Thompson said, “I always danced growing up, so I knew that I wanted to pursue that professionally…I also knew that I wanted to double major, so it was really important for me to look for a school that had a BA (Bachelor of Arts) in dance and not a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in dance so that I would be able to double major, which is how I chose Loyola.”

Application season is always a complicated time, but it is especially difficult for current high school seniors, as they don’t have an abundance of resources available for them to successfully complete their paperwork due to at-home, online education. Thankfully, many colleges throughout the U.S. have lowered their requirements, including making SAT tests optional.

“I had just tweaked my essay that I had on Common App for the Loyola application and submitted that,” Thompson said, in regards to her experience with the application process. “It was a bit stressful because I lived in Japan at the moment so I didn’t really tour the campus before deciding to go. For the dance program, we also have to audition to get into the program, so I had to do a video audition instead of an in person audition. So that was an added element of stress.”

With a majority of college students only taking one major, 30% to 40% of undergraduates are double majors. According to uloop.com, one of the biggest advantages of being a double major is the diverse set of skills you’ll learn and the wide variety of jobs you’ll be qualified for. However, having these extra courses could negatively impact your schedule and it could be very challenging.

“…[My] schedule was kind of hectic just because the first half of the day would be my English major courses, and then the second half would be all my dance major courses,” Thompson said. “My advice for anyone who wants to double major would be to really try to piece together your schedule and not be picky about who your professors are.”

Every college application process is different, however, they all want to learn about what defines you and the unique experiences you have come across throughout your life.