College applications: two words that instill fear in high school students across the nation. From GPA to community service to test scores, students have become accustomed to the required components on these dreaded documents. However, like most things in the recent past, Covid-19 has changed the preferences of college admissions. As if the applications were not already stressful enough, there are now a couple of issues seniors have been running into while knocking out the ‘app in the pandemic era. 

It is well known that college apps have never been easy. Granted, they are much simpler than back in the day, when everything had to be handwritten. But filling out each section can be a tedious and overwhelming process, even digitally. Fortunately, the Common Application (AKA common app) has made it a little easier, allowing students to apply to numerous colleges at the click of a button. “I love the fact that it’s all in one place and we don’t have to fill out dozens of forms,” said senior Milan Capoor.

Despite the convenience brought by the common app, Covid has still brought its complications down on the class of ‘22. The ever-so-important teacher recommendations have become difficult to obtain considering many current seniors have never even set foot in their junior year classrooms. Most college counselors recommend asking junior year teachers to write these letters, but how can this be done when many students completed their entire year digitally? “Since I chose to be virtual for the rest of my junior year, I never got to make those important connections with my teachers,” said senior Lilia Bohntinsky. “This made it a lot harder when I needed to get my letters of recommendation done.”

Covid has also become a taboo topic for admissions officers. When brainstorming essay topics, not only should students avoid the cliches, but try to veer away from the coronavirus entirely. The pandemic was a rough time for all of us, and the universities reading your essays are fully aware. That being said, they are quite tired of reading heaps of papers all about how the pandemic has had such a huge impact on student lives. Simply mentioning covid is fine, but seniors need to stay away from basing their whole writing piece on such a common experience when the essays are all about how you are unique. “I knew that covid was an overused topic, so I never wanted to write about it for my college essay,” said senior Ellie Aferiat. “It would be pretty bad if a basic essay were to cost me my spot at a school.”

The application process is hard enough, and the last thing stressed seniors need is another annoyance caused by covid. Hopefully, the spirit of these students will help them to persevere, securing their rightful collegiate spot as they finish off their last year as a Warrior.