As for every year, the Fall can be a very stressful time for seniors as they figure out where and how to apply for college. Guidance Tech Leah Becker has some insight for how to handle college applications.

Lancer Link: What is some advice you would give seniors when applying for college applications?

Becker: “So some advice would be to know what is expected of you when applying so go visit all the college websites and make sure that you have all of your ducks in a row really making sure that you are able to provide everything that you need and have a full and complete application. Also, making sure that you have a successful application to turn in.”

LL: What is the best advice you would give students who are writing their college essays?

Becker: “So for their college essays i think that one thing that really sticks out is just making sure that you’re answering the questions or the topic that the school wants you to address. They want to know about you and what you have done and what makes you a great student. Then having someone proofread it, I think that’s really important in having a separate set of eyes to critique”

LL: Would you say the college essays are different from the scholarship essays?

Becker: “Absolutely. So scholarships are a lot different because depending on the type of scholarships whether they’re through local community foundations or memorial scholarships, those are gonna have specific questions and their gonna want to know certain things about you versus the college application essays. So I think they are much different and I think the main thing is that you are not turning in the same essay to every school because that’s what schools don’t want. I think the other thing is that the scholarships are really looking at what their criteria is.”

LL: How many students do you think get into a four year university right after high school here at CHS?

Becker: “93% of CHS graduates attend a postsecondary educational institution, 54% go to a four year college, and then 39% go to a two year college.”

LL: After college applications go by, do you think the year becomes less stressful for the staff and the students or is there more to be concerned about?

Becker: “ I think for seniors it does becomes less stressful obviously just because you’re applying to multiple schools and they have multiple essays  and I think that is why it can be stressful. That’s why we encourage our seniors to get started on it a lot earlier so that they’re not scrambling by the end of the deadline. For staff, I don’t think it’s  really stressful. I think it’s a busy time because a lot of seniors are coming in and talking with our staff. It’s really just a matter of providing the information and guiding our seniors on the best path that they can be on.”

LL: How do you think counselors manage their time with all the student that they have coming in?

Becker: “Well i think it’s just a matter of being a school counselor. It’s a constant juggling act because it’s really about prioritizing there are things that need to be done now immediately and then there are somethings that can wait until tomorrow so it’s really looking at priorities.”