Navigating stress of post secondary application process proves easier with staff GPS

Essays, letters of recommendation, transcript, classes, grades… staff members have all been through this process before, but for seniors, the college application process is as jarring and unwelcome as the first winter snow. 

Luckily, there are teachers in every nook and cranny eager to help students clear the snow off their windshield and drive headfirst into a completely new environment.

West registrar Susan Whittaker helps seniors with the admissions process every year.

“My part right now is mostly sending out transcripts on Parchment because the applications are done online,” she said. “I’m just here to help the senior counselor with anything. I organize all the scholarships for seniors, and I work with the mid-year seniors to make sure they have everything good to go to graduate. I’m behind the scenes, making sure they have certain things.”

Students commonly wonder how to send information to colleges, which senior counselor Heidi Wheaton handles.

“The most common questions are ‘how do I send my ACT scores and transcript, and I’m using Common App, do I send my transcript or do you send it?’” she said. “The answer to that one is, with Common App, I send the transcript, and with the applications through any college, you send it through Parchment. You always send your own ACT score.”

Wheaton has advice for every aspect of the college application process.

“I have tips and tricks on writing a college essay- things to include, making it personal and interesting- everything like that,” she said. “Writing letters of recommendation is big. I’m writing a lot of those, and teachers write them for people. If you go to the Oshkosh West website and click ‘counseling’ and then the college readiness section, all the information on how to apply is there. There’s also a link to scholarships.”

There are specific methods of essay writing that allow a student to best put their true selves forward.

“The common mistake that students make in approaching the essay is they see it as a repetition of the application itself, when really the essay is an opportunity to let a college admission officer get to know your passions, your interests, and what drives you to make your world a better place,” Whittaker said. “My advice to students in writing the essay is to always pick something that can't be captured on the actual transcript or actual application because it lets the admission officer get to know you with a little bit more depth.”

It’s no secret that applying to colleges causes many sleepless nights and permanent under-eye bags, but there are things students can do to alleviate stress.

“We try to stress that at the end of junior year, get all of these things ready. Take those visits to where you want to go to school and get letters of recommendation written,” Whittaker said. “Senior year we divide it, so it’s not so overwhelming. Before Halloween, apply to a school. Before December, once you get your acceptance, figure out what school you’re going to go to. January, do scholarships. Break it up, so it’s not all so overwhelming.”

Certain skills allow students to stand out among the masses of applications, and problem-solving tools are beneficial.

“An important thing is being resilient to setbacks and things that are difficult and realizing not everything has to be perfect,” Wheaton said. “Because of COVID, you had to learn ways to solve problems that normally would’ve been easier to solve if you had been in school or around more people in the classroom. I feel like you guys have more skills than other classes in the past may have had.”

It’s also important to focus on things that a student is especially passionate about.

“In the past, colleges used to want a well-rounded person, and not that they don’t want that anymore, but it’s okay to have a focus,” Wheaton said. “What’s your focus, and what other things do you do? Colleges like to see what your passions are and what you’re really good at, and what other things feed into that.”

There are classes at West that prepare students for the rigor of college, and Carrie Newton teaches two of those.

“In Pre-College English, we try to focus on some of the more academic skills that you may not have been exposed to in your high school career,” she said. “One of the units that is most challenging for the students is to do APA research and reading, so we do a lot of work to practice reading academic journals that are particularly difficult. They have to work with them in an actual APA format in writing because English teachers at Oshkosh West use MLA, so they haven't been exposed to it.”

Taking CAPP classes equips students with qualities and strategies to succeed in college. Newton also teaches CAPP Speech, which has benefits across the board for high schoolers.

“CAPP classes introduce students to the idea of a syllabus as a contract as something that needs to be upheld between both the student and the professor, and it’s a different level of rigor that helps students to balance a college schedule before they actually get on campus,” she said. “CAPP classes are a great opportunity for students to jump ahead in the overall college experience, meaning they save some money and credits. It opens up their schedule as a freshman and sophomore because they have more credits than other freshmen and sophomore counterparts.”

Student stress levels tend to go up when deadlines approach.

“People were pretty stressed out right before November 1 because it’s early action and early decision deadline week,” Wheaton said. “If a student wants to apply for early decision, that means if that college accepts them, they are saying ‘yes, I am going to your college’. Getting all of that information in stresses out a lot of people. Plus, grades are due and things are ramping up for classes.”

Whittaker has seen scholarship money help many students be able to go to the school they want to go to, which is why it’s so important to apply to as many as possible.

“Every year at the scholarship ceremony, there are a couple of people who win all the scholarships because they apply for all of them,” she said. “People will be invited to the scholarship ceremony if they win a scholarship, but they don’t know which one they won or how many, so it’s kind of like the Academy Awards for me. If I find out what a student is majoring in and I hear about a scholarship coming in for that major, I’ll call the student down and let them know there’s a scholarship perfect for them.”

Even if a student doesn’t know what they want to major in, there are plenty of opportunities offered for them to explore their interests.

“Take a variety of electives and things that aren’t required. Once you get into school and see what’s out there and what classes are offered, you’ll kind of get a pull towards what you're looking for,” Wheaton said. “Colleges have really good resources for you to explore different things and plug in your interests and skills. They’ll guide you into different things you might want to explore and take more classes on.”

It’s important that students do what genuinely interests them, regardless of what those around them are involved in.

“Keep a brag sheet earlier on with a running list of all the times you volunteer or give blood because all the little things you do count,” Wheaton said. “Do things that you like to do. It doesn’t have to be exactly what a friend does, even though it can be. Do what speaks to you, whether that’s working with the Connected group or working with Index or sports, and don’t be afraid to get involved in stuff because there’s plenty to get involved in.”

Wheaton is proud of this senior class and the growth they’ve shown over the past four years and looks forward to a bright future for this year’s graduates.

“This class is a very resilient group. When you came back from COVID, you guys were such leaders and ready to make the best of everything we offered,” she said. “There was no taking for granted of anything we have the opportunity to do. By the time you were juniors and seniors, school spirit was off the charts. I feel like you’ve really done that for our school, and you guys are so appreciative of everything we get to do together.”

No matter where each student ends up after June, whether that’s the college of their dreams, somewhere they never thought they’d end up, or in the workforce, Wheaton envisions a very bright future for this year’s graduates.

“My philosophy has always been that college chooses you. If your dream school chooses you and you choose it, that’s great. But if you don’t get that acceptance letter from that school, I just really believe that wasn’t the school for you,” she said. “There is a different part of your journey that is supposed to happen in this other place you’re supposed to go. Your journey and next chapter is just the way it’s supposed to be, and you should embrace whatever it is.”

by Abby Furcy

Published November 28, 2022

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue III