A Difficult Process that Became Simple

Did you know that last year, the college acceptance rates dropped to 4.65%? This can often discourage students from applying to college at all. Students don’t want to be rejected, so they leave their applications to the last minute, which is not a clever idea. Applications are a very long process with very tedious steps in-between, and this exactly what the College Workshop was trying to help with.

The college Assistance Workshop was available to all seniors on September 30, 2017 from 9:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon. This workshop took place in the media center of John A. Ferguson Senior High School and was available to any student who took it upon themselves to attend. Few students attended the event, but those who did were well taken care of and had every one of their questions answered.

College is a very stressful subject in a young person’s life, and many students wait until the last minute and become very overwhelmed. The event that took place was designed to assist any student who had questions or concerns involving their applications. When entering the media center, there were rows of computers where students could apply by sitting down and logging into 2 different websites: https://www.commonapp.org/ and http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/. Their choice depended on whether or not the universities they wished to enroll were registered with each website.  When they logged in they enter their requirements and began the lengthy process.  During this time, Mrs. Graham, the supervisor who was present, went around the room ready to answer any questions, or print any documents for the students, ensuring that their applications went as smooth as possible.

“Every year seniors struggle with their applications, you can count on that. It’s a difficult process, it’s a time-consuming process, it’s overwhelming,” Mrs. Graham said since her goal is to assist each and every student to the best of her ability. She hopes to make the process a little easier for seniors. Mrs. Graham understands the struggles of each student who applies to college. “There’s a lot of steps and components and then they’ll put it off… and then there’s the essay and one more thing and it just gets really overwhelming because they are doing this on top of all their school work.” Which is why she was very patient and addressed every question with an elaborate explanation and a helpful attitude.

Meghan Herrera, a senior who attended the event said: “Having someone there with you to make sure you’re doing everything right, is easier in a sense that what you’re submitting is correct…I don’t recommend doing this alone.” This is why our school decided to hold a workshop, because they do not want students like Meghan going through such an important step in their lives not knowing what to do. Another student who was present, Caitlin Sherman, said: “It helps you to start, I never really had anyone teach me about this stuff, or give me any kind of advice. Right now, I’m kind of doing this blindfolded.” A hand full of seniors applying to schools may not know where to begin when they start applying; however, this opportunity changed their perspective. Matthew Gonzalez also came to the event and when asked about how this event benefited students who don’t have any idea on where to begin, he said: “There are resources here and the supervisors know what they are doing, and they can help you do it.”