With early action application deadlines rapidly approaching, college has been all the talk at BHS this fall. The Eagle’s Cry surveyed some students to find out demographic information on the most popular schools and tons of other information on the application process.
How many colleges have you applied to/plan to apply to?
From our survey, it has been found on average that students are applying to 11 colleges this fall. Some students find it better to apply to as few colleges as possible, while others shoot high and see where they can get in. Nora Kerrigan said, “I think anything over 15 is way too many.”
What major are you interested in?
Many students are interested in pursuing majors in medical fields. Anything from dentistry to biology was reported on our survey, and we found that the majority of students who answered stated their interest in studying medicine. It is great to know that our generation hopes to pursue such noble careers.
What region of the country are the majority of the colleges you applied to/plan to apply to?
58.8% of the students who answered the survey applied to or plan to apply to schools in the Northeast region of the United States. The Southeast region came in second at 17.6%, with many students hoping to travel south for college. The least popular region for colleges BHS students are applying to is the West, with only 5.9% of students planning to travel far.
What colleges have you applied to/plan to apply to?
Overall, the most popular schools BHS students are applying to are the SUNYs. Given that they are known to be affordable and not too far from home, SUNYs are a great option for students living in New York. The most common SUNYs seen were Cortland, Oneonta, Buffalo, and Binghamton. For students looking for more of a travel, Clemson University, the University of South Carolina, and the University of Tampa were most popular for students this application season.
How many of the schools you’ve applied to/plan to apply to have you visited?
The most common answer was 5 schools from the survey. It is great that students are taking the time to tour schools they are interested in to make sure they know what college they want to go to. Eva Neamonitis said, “Before I visited Quinnipiac, I didn’t think I’d like it, but after I did, I fell in love, and now it’s one of my top choices.”.
Do you think other BHS students are applying or plan to apply to the schools you are interested in?
Nearly 50% of students thought that most of their peers would be applying to the same schools as them. Julia Baumbach said, “I’ve talked to so many people that are applying to the same schools as me.” It is very cool that students share interest in similar colleges; however, this could make it more competitive and difficult for students to get accepted to some schools.
What was the most challenging part of the application process?
Most students expressed that writing their college essay was the most difficult part of their application process. Zach Fradella said, “I wish every school had the same supplemental question so I wouldn’t have to write 100 different ones.” It is very true that the supplemental essays can be a real struggle once they all add up. Colleges making their prompts the same would save a lot of time and make the process just a little bit easier for students. Mr. Malossi, who sees about 500 college essays a year, said, “I think the supplementals are more important than the Common App Essay at this point. Application readers are frustrated by AI, and they are just fed up in general. When they see a good essay obviously written by a kid, they’re happy.”
We wish all BHS seniors the best of luck with their applications this upcoming year!
