The holiday season is not the only thing making people squirm and sweat with anticipation. College applications have officially begun, and Early Action Deadlines have reached their end! There is an eerie dimension that lies between the beauty of a high school cap and gown and the “Freshman 15.” Misconceptions plague each applicant rushing to fill out what they expected to be a 20-minute sit-down. This erroneous perception of college applications is confronted with the stark reality of stressful preparation spanning from a week to one’s birth. The asterisk saying the failure to complete the application under exact terms can result in the denial of one’s application haunts each applicant with resounding whispers every sleepless night.

      Though one would expect the prodding of parents and social conduct to force students to submit to the tyranny of college applications, the statistics show otherwise in current application data.

      A CNN Money article emphasizes the change in student demographics in regards to the decline of student enrollment. The biggest issue: finances. Despite America notably being the “land of opportunity,” the number of minority or low-income students that view college as inaccessible is increasing.

      The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center created a study and figure illustrating the post-secondary institution enrollment percentage changes by sector of “Degree-Granting Institutions.” The negative percentage reiterates the drop in enrollment, especially in the most recent data they have discovered from the negative 2014 and 2015 spring and fall enrollment figures.

      The decline in enrollment is obvious, but what is the inadvertent result? In January 2016, the Atlantic wrote an article saying, “People are pretty much just wandering around between youth dependency and adult dependence.” Society is in for a rush of individuals stuck in the parallel universe of unknowns and seeming incompetence.

      In efforts to decrease the number of students that wander into the unknown abyss, CK teachers and staff work hard to present resources to the students to aid them in their college applications and future planning.

      An interview with AP English teacher Kevin McCarthy proves this point. All juniors enrolled in his AP class work on their personal essays after taking the class’ AP exam in May, and he works with 15-20 seniors in preparation for essay submission. McCarthy said that common issues like procrastinating and the reciprocating stress, not being able to personalize the essay, only “telling” but not “showing” their experiences, and being overtly cliché with phrases like “I want to make the world a better place” often overwhelm students who plan on applying.

      For all the students who plan on applying to college and are beckoned by the desire for higher education through the standard means of college, here are some tips from McCarthy:

1. “Be willing to revise”
2. “See the essay as a cause and effect response”
3. “Hit the bullet points-  courage, leadership, collaboration, diversity, intellectual curiosities, passion for learning, etc”
4. “Allow yourself to go deeper into the subject…be specific with how sports, music, dance, etc. have impacted you”

      The pursuit of college can be stressful, but a well-considered plan in regards to post-high school education can be executed properly with the aid of the staff and administration at CK and trusted individuals who once embarked on the same journey. It is important to seek a greater understanding of the career field(s) that one is interested in, strive to find connections with individuals who have taken the same path or one similar to it, and follow the steps necessary to obtain that degree or position.

      All in all, college applications are stressful. They bring out the bad and the ugly, while still finding the time to keep students sleep deprived and worried. At the end of the day, deadlines are not suggestions, and admittance is not life. The best people come out of the craziest life experiences, and the path less traveled means the ability to blaze one’s own trail.