College Decisions- The Stress and Excitement That Comes With the Process

By Sienna Wheeler

4/9/2025

As it is nearing the end of the school year, stress is high for many.  There are finals and AP exams, but extra stress is on a rise for seniors, especially as they continue to make their college decisions.

Students have applied to a variety of different schools across the country, but some similarities amongst colleges applied to are prevalent amongst Colonie Central High School seniors.  For example, all 3 students I interviewed applied to at least one SUNY school and at least one private institution.

Not only is stress high as the seniors continue to make their commitments, but there was also a large amount of stress early in the school year when applications were due.  Two of the interviewees expressed they were pressured to not only meet the early action/early decision deadlines, but to apply to certain places due to family or peers.

Colonie senior, Olivia Barber, felt pressured to apply to her SUNY schools not necessarily because of the early action date, but due to the fact that there was a deadline to submit her application during free application week.  She also felt some pressure to apply to RIT because she earned a scholarship at the end of her junior year and they waived her application fee, so her parents really encouraged her to apply there.

Emily Trama, another Colonie senior, felt similar pressure when it came to the deadlines as she also applied early action to all 10 of her schools with all of the dates back to back.  Differently from Barber though, Trama's family was a root of much of the pressure she felt because they wanted her to stay close to home for college.

In comparison to both of the girls, Colonie senior John Luu felt little pressure from deadlines, family, and peers.  He applied to 7 schools, all of which he wanted to apply to on his own and he had help from a teacher which allowed for little deadline pressure.

Barber has committed to Binghamton University, Luu has committed to Boston University, and Trama has yet to commit, but is in between Russell Sage where she would continue her volleyball career or Stony Brook which would solely be for academics.  As this transitional time in life continues to remind the students of adulthood, there is also much good to come out of this new chapter in their lives.

Barber is extremely excited to discover all of the opportunities Binghamton has to offer such as their taekwondo club and other programs related to our school’s ICARE club.

“I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter of my life. I really want to meet new people and get an opportunity to study what I’m really passionate about”, says Barber.

Similarly, Trama is looking forward to having a fresh start where the people do not know her yet as a person.

“I think I’m looking forward to having a clean slate.  It’s a fresh start with your academics and peers”, says a hopeful Trama.

Much of Luu’s excitement stems from the city of Boston.  He appreciates the large Asian-American community, the many restaurants, and the many opportunities the city provides.  

He explains that “as a young person, I think I am going to have way more fun in a city place like Boston”.

While all three of these students may have different pathways and different journeys ahead of them, they all relate in that they once had to go through the same college application process.  Although they were under immense pressure and have mostly “negative” feelings such as stress, all of the seniors have been able to look forward to their future lives which will someday help to shape and impact our world.