As summer comes to an end and we near the fall months, the beginning-of-school excitement is slowly dying down. Dowling students are beginning to adjust to heavy workloads and busy schedules. But as we move deeper into the 2024-25 school year, Dowling Catholic’s senior students have more on their minds than just making it through their last year of high school. This fall, our seniors are burdened with a huge mission –  the college application. 

The application process has many different elements and takes much time and effort to complete. Each university has different requirements, but the one constant in college applications is the personal essay. The personal essay is the biggest task for applicants each year. Between choosing a prompt, drafting a story, and making countless edits, the in-depth process can take a long time. The endeavor of writing this 650-word essay is begun at the end of junior year, but many seniors dedicate additional time to this essay over summer break. 

“I started my rough draft at the end of junior year in my English class, but I had a couple of drafts. I only started focusing on my final product in late July,” says Dowling senior Katie Strawn. 

Other application requirements include teacher recommendation letters, test scores, and supplemental short answer essays. Katie says that between the seven universities she is applying to, she has six short essays left to write. “I started writing my supplementals mid-August,” Katie tells me,  “and I’m actually trying to finish them this weekend!”

Katie is not the only senior working diligently this fall. Every applicant has a different palette to work with – a different mixture of essays to write and recommendations to collect – which means that everyone is currently at a different stage in this long process. 

Natalie Garrison, a Dowling senior, is very close to the finish line. “I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Juric help with my essay. I finished it in the middle of my Junior year and have been making edits and corrections ever since,” she tells me. She has two supplemental essays left to write but has already applied early decision to her top school. “I am absolutely stressed about my application and essay. It’d be weird if I wasn’t.”

Autumn Ogle-Riccelli has also been making good progress on her application. Autumn is applying to ten schools, so, naturally, she has lots of work to do. Her personal essay is already completed – she reached her final product in August. But when I asked her how her supplementals were coming, she admitted, “There’s a lot left.” Fortunately, Autumn is only applying to one school early. For the rest, she has plenty of time to refine her application.

Anna Johnson is applying in a similar way. She is applying to the University of Kansas early and has three backup schools to apply to regularly. I asked her how many pieces of her application she still has to complete. “For KU, I don’t even need a personal essay, so technically zero, but I can submit one if I like. For the major I am applying to there is an optional portfolio piece that I will be doing.” KU is Anna’s dream school, so the application makes her nervous. But there is no doubt she’s ready to apply come the deadline.

The due date for these applications creeps closer and closer every day. The very earliest deadlines occur in November. If applicants are dead set on one school, they can apply early decision – a binding agreement. Most students, however, apply through regular decision, which typically takes place in January. With just a few months between now and the deadlines, college applications are a subject looming above many people’s heads. But as intimidating as it seems, we wish our seniors luck as they near the finish line of this exciting time.