All seniors have been there: looking at the essay requirements for a school and being quickly discouraged to apply. You may be thinking that more than one personal statement is unnecessary, but for students who are dedicated to the school at hand, multiple essays discouraging potential applicants could mean their acceptance.

Many competitive schools have several supplement essays and, although tedious, multiple essays can be important for discouraging the students who apply ‘just because they know they can get in’. When word spreads that an application to a ‘safety school’ doesn’t require an essay and only takes 20 minutes to complete, students will be more likely to apply there, but this takes away places from students that actually want to go there. 

“Although it can take a long time, learning more about [a student through the essays] shows whether or not you really want to go there,” said Bella Ivanov, senior.

Multiple essays aren’t just the university at hand trying to add things to their applicants presumably already packed schedules: the essays help schools get to know the student.

“It makes sense for the schools because they get to know who cares about actually going there and they can make sure the school is a good fit for the student,” said Molly Caveney, senior.

As I previously mentioned, if you are applying to a school with more than one essay, it can be assumed that your every minute is scheduled. Finding a spare block of time to complete and perfect more than one personal statement can be difficult.

“The problem with multiple essays is that I don’t have time to do multiple essays for all of my schools,” said Omar Nabulsi, senior.

In between my job, babysitting, my harder senior year schedule, and trying to keep my life together, finding time to fill out numerous supplement essays is a challenge. My advice to juniors is to be prepared; most applications open in the summer, and as hard as going to the library during break is, it will be worth it when your applications are done and you can focus on school work. On the bright side, for many schools, when you apply early you find out even sooner.

“Know your deadline and make a timeline to do each piece of your application so all of your applications don’t pile up,” said Mrs. Donna Wheeler, counselor.

Though it can be stressful to fill out the lengthy applications, essays help the student get to know the school just as much as it helps the school learn about the student. Good luck to the seniors with college apps.