As summer rolls around the corner, rising seniors can almost taste the seemingly endless task of applying to colleges. Although touring campuses may be an exciting time, students often dread the ongoing process of writing essay after essay on how ‘original’ they are. Not only is the application process devastatingly long, but actually picking out the perfect college for the next four years of one’s life can be overly intimidating.

“It makes for a stressful August, and those deadlines can really creep up on you if your procrastinate,” junior Ned Storer said.

The fact that students must, for the first time in their lives, narrow down their options and interests at college is another stressor in the application process.

“Even though most of my friends all seem to know exactly where they’re going to go to college and what they’ll major in, I personally feel lost. It’s hard to decide, as a seventeen-year-old, what kind of job I’ll want straight out of college,” junior Jared Rathmell said.

There is a stark difference between high school and college, both in workload and responsibility. The independence from parents is both refreshing and intimidating for WJ students.

“Personally, I’m really excited to live on my own for the first time. It’ll be tough to make my own meals everyday without my mom, but it’s an important step, since we’ll all be in the real world in five or so years,” junior Ramez Crump said.

Overall, the college application process is stressful, extensive and exhausting, but taking it seriously and making the right decision sets students up for a successful life post-high school.