The deadline for many college’s early action and decision applications was Nov. 1. Many teachers have been noticing shifts in their student’s emotions and stress levels. Once the date passes, students can focus more on their schoolwork.
According to physics teacher Daniel Ruzek, as a teacher he notices that the looming deadline is detrimental to student’s focus in class.
“They get a little more frustrated, nervous about stuff and more distracted,” said Ruzek. “It’s nice when that date passes to be able to breathe.”
According to senior Lilia Meyer, it’s a lot of work to complete everything that is due.
“It’s a little bit stressful trying to get everything done, especially at the end of the quarter with those two deadlines in place,” Meyer said
Senior Avery Courneya said teachers have been very accommodating to students in the application process, especially through writing letters of recommendation.
“Ms. Luskey has been super helpful. She wrote me a letter of recommendation, and she helped me with the part of the common app that I didn’t understand,” Courneya said.
As these dates come nearer, they can cause a lot of stress that affects classroom performance, said Ruzek. He said if teachers are aware of these approaching cutoffs, it eliminates a lot of issues.
“If we know deadlines and big things that are coming up, we can be more supportive and at least aware that kids have these necessary distractions, and we can plan things accordingly,” Ruzek said.
The common app isn’t the only thing that students will need to apply to colleges, Meyer said.
“You also have to keep in mind that the common app isn’t the only thing you’re gonna use,” Meyer said. “You also have to use quite a bit of Naviance and also some college websites, depending on the college.”
Courneya said completing the common app can be very time consuming and many students recommend getting it completed as soon as possible to make applications smoother.
“I would definitely say to do your common app as early as possible to get it done out of the way so you could focus on your essays and supplementals,” Courneya said
Although the early decision and action due date has passed, the due date for regular decision applications is approaching on Jan. 1.
