College application season is known as one of the most stressful times during your high school career, and for the seniors at Magnet, it has been on most students’ minds for the past three months. When applying to college there are three routes prospective students can take: Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision. Early Decision is binding, meaning that if accepted, you would be willing to drop all other acceptances and be able to afford the first year of tuition. Early Action on the other hand is non binding but does allow students to know if they were accepted earlier. Regular Decision is your stereotypical application deadline, meaning you will find out at the usual time colleges let students know if they were accepted or denied. I interviewed your magnet seniors to see where they are applying and what level of application they are primarily using.

Wyatt Mahoney-

Wyatt Mahoney is applying to all schools early. These schools include Arizona State University, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana University, Alabama, Arizona University, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Georgia, Richmond, South Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Virginia Tech. Wyatt says he would personally be happy anywhere but likes the golf courses near both of the Arizona schools, which acts as an extra incentive towards the schools. So far Wyatt knows that he has been accepted to both Alabama and Arizona State but is still looking forward to finding out more decisions. One aspect of his application that stood out to him was his University of Richmond Supplemental Essays as they seem very complicated and detail oriented.

Connor Sawall- 

When asked about his college application process, Connor says “I do not plan on completing any applications earlier than regular decisions”. Sometimes only submitting regular applications can prove stress relieving for those who have a busy schedule outside of school.

Jason Gould-

When asked about his application process, Jason said he is trying to apply to as many early applications as possible but does not know if they are feasible for his workload in and outside of school. Some of the schools Jason is considering applying early to are Clemson, University of South Carolina, UNC, University of Michigan, and Emory. Jason informed me about the Ivy league applications and how they offer restrictive early action to limit the number of Ivy’s a student applies to. Jason is considering applying to Princeton but does not know how his restrictive early action process is going to go. When discussing his applications he told me that UNC has a complicated, yet intriguing application process, as they are already asking him about his ambitions when it comes to studying abroad.

Gannon Rose-

Gannon described his applications as being mainly early action. Some of the schools he is applying to are Northeastern, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of Virginia. Gannon is the first person who I have asked that said he is not applying to any in-state schools such as Clemson or South Carolina. Gannon says he has barely started his application process and does not know truly if he has any dream schools. Since he is in the beginning stages, there is no particular part of any application that stands out to him.

Harrison Shaw-

Harrison is mainly applying to schools early. These schools include Clemson, UNC, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Texas A&M. Harrison, unlike other students, is also applying to the Military Academies, and hopes to get into West Point as his goal in life is to continue a life in the army. For his West Point application, Harrison has to get a recommendation letter from a senator in his state, which is a work in progress.

Ford Martin-

Ford is applying to all of his schools regular decision, as he is in no rush to finding out his college decisions. He is applying all in state, specifically Clemson and South Carolina. Ford says he likes Clemson because of the sports environment, and likes South Carolina because of the energy and atmosphere the Gamecocks bring. He does not have a dream school as he views both schools as equals. Ford has not encountered any part of his applications that have stood out to him.

Lucas “Lukey” Sutherland- 

Lukey, when asked about his applications, said he is applying half early and half regular. He is ED’ing or applying Early Decision to Duke, and is applying Early Action to Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, and UNC. Lukey’s dream school is Duke because he likes the campus, school and academic environment, as well as the good distance it has from home. One application that stood out to Lukey was his UNC application as it asked him about some attributes that he has that would contribute to his service in the community.

Annika Johnson-

Annika is applying to all schools regular decision, however she is also applying to a foreign school that requires a completely different application. When applying to Cambridge, she has to use the British Common Application, otherwise known as UCAS, where there are three dates when the application is due. The first wave is due on October 16th, the secondary wave is due on the 23rd, and her final two pieces of written work are due on November 2nd. Annika is determined to get into Cambridge because she loves their amazing medieval studies program that focuses on Anglo-Saxon History. She also loves the campus because of its modern and classical architecture. Annika noticed on her application that alot of colleges were asking her what brings her joy, however she especially liked how Brown wanted to know specifically what we like about their open curriculum and what we hope to achieve from it.

Milla Broadwater- 

Milla is applying fifty fifty to both regular and early action schools, and told me that she wasn’t planning on applying to any schools Early Decision because it is binding. She is applying to South Carolina, Clemson, Wofford, Georgetown, Tennessee, Northeastern, and NYU. Milla’s dream school is NYU because of their unique luxury marketing program, as well as city life, and a great study abroad program. She described their supplemental as being different and enjoyable to write because she was given a choice between picking one of six quotes and analyzing it, or picking her own quote and describing its meaning and value to her.

Xander Darcy- 

Xander is applying to one school early decision, 2 early action, and 1 regular. He is applying to Tulane, Clemson, College of Charleston, and Vanderbilt. He hopes to get into Tulane because of how much he loved the atmosphere, the great classes, and beautiful city. Xander says the hardest part of the application process has been his common app essay, as he is trying to make it the best it can be.