The first semester of senior year is by far the most important and stressful for seniors here at Anderson High School. During this time, college applications are opening and deadlines are quickly approaching. Students are left to decide what they want to study, which colleges they want to apply to, and how they’re going to afford it. This process can get very overwhelming without the proper support.
Senior Delaynie Stanley is currently in the process of applying for college. “It’s a long and tiring process,” said Stanley. In times like these, it is best to take things slow in order to not get overwhelmed.
“They ask a variety of questions that don’t really seem important. The hardest part about them is not knowing the correct way to answer them,” said Stanley. In this stage of the application process, without having any help, students can start to feel lost.
Stanley was alone throughout the beginning of this process. That was until a staff member at AHS noticed that she was struggling. Stanley said, “Mr Zehr, one of the assistant band directors, started helping me out during this process.” Mr. Zehr helped guide Stanley through the rest of the process, while also giving her the freedom to do some of it on her own.
“He would give me assignments every day. These ranged from picking at least five majors that I’m interested in and
finding some colleges that offer those majors,” said Stanley.
This helped Stanley get back on track and she even started making decisions like settling on some majors and even a minor. “I decided that I want to study East Asian Language and Culture because I find the culture very interesting. I actually didn’t know you could minor in this until I completed some of the assignments Mr. Zehr gave to me,” said Stanley. “I am thinking of majoring in tourism, hospitality, or event management because I think they will go well with my minor,” stated Stanley.
“Mr. Zehr helped break down the process into smaller steps, which made it less overwhelming for me,” Stanley said. When students have help throughout this process, it makes it less overwhelming.
If you are currently going through this process and you feel lost as Stanley did, you can find people to help you as well. Try contacting Mrs. Wilson or your counselor and they can walk you through the application process.
