Senior year is unlike any other year of schooling in so many ways, however that doesn’t slow down the year because this one seems to be going much faster than the rest. Now that 2016 is coming to a close that means one thing: “Early Decision” decisions are coming out. Early Decision is a type of application in which the applicant is committing to attend that school if they are accepted, and they also find out about their admittance much sooner than other schools. It is a binding application which shows how serious a student is about attending a school which they choose to ED to. Most people who do this know that this is their dream school and have their heart set on it fully, which can lead to the greatest feelings of success if they are accepted or the worst feelings of sadness if they are rejected.

I chose not to do this. The process seems all too stressful and without visiting most of the schools I have chosen to apply to I knew that committing before weighing all my options just did not make sense for my situation. I admire those who are able to dedicate themselves to one option upfront, however I found it not to be the correct path for me.

On the other hand, a significant amount of my friends decided to do this themselves. As teenagers, it’s hard to hide this big decision from friends and peers. So I knew what most of my friends were hoping for in terms of hearing back from schools throughout December. As time went on and they began to grow more anxious awaiting their decisions, I absorbed some of their anxiety. I was incredibly relieved when almost all of my friends were accepted early to their first choice schools.

Watching all my friends commit to their future universities so quickly made me realize such a big struggle for some seniors: watching all your friends start their college journey while you anxiously await word from all the schools you applied to. It’s hard enough to wonder which schools will accept you and which schools will reject you, but to watch all your friends not having to worry about it because they’re going to their top choice is an overwhelming feeling. Of course the main emotion towards those who are accepted ED is happiness knowing that they’ve achieved their dreams, yet you cannot help but get more than a little antsy because of it.

The college application process alone is prone to stress people out, but no one ever really talks about how stressful the waiting is. It can take months for you to hear from the schools you care about most! What are you supposed to do in the meantime? It’s not like you can just apply to more schools for fun, it’s pointless if you do not actually want to go to those schools and it’s just more to wait for! The frustration of the actual process of writing supplements and filling out financial aid forms pales in comparison to the frustration of sitting around twiddling your thumbs for months while you think about where you could end up next year.