As juniors embark on the college search and application process this winter, seniors send off their final applications and wave goodbye to the college office for now. Several seniors offered wisdom and strategies about the college process to answer juniors’ burning questions.

Lucas Liu ’23: “How much can I rely on my college counselor to help me through the process?”

Carlos Panayiotopoulos ’22: “Juniors can rely on their college counselors as much as possible. When I was a junior, I didn’t take advantage of as many of the opportunities as I should have. I could have gone to meet with my college counselor more often and spent more time familiarizing myself with the college process, which I think would have been a lot more beneficial than leaving it all to the last minute. My college counselor, Director of College Counseling Amy Selinger, is the best. She is really good at reviewing essays with me, making sure everything is correct. She is very kind, and sometimes I’ll just go hang out with her in her office.”

Graham Bateman ’23: “What is the most important part of the college application process?”

Tess Bierly ’22: “I think the most important part of the college process is dedicating sufficient time to write the essays. The essays are a great opportunity to share what you are passionate about and give an admissions office insight into who you are beyond your academic statistics, so in my opinion, devoting time into writing those is the most important piece.”

Juliet Shaywitz ’23: “How did you know which schools you wanted to apply to?”

Anji Friedbauer ’22: “I liked the schools that I had visited and knew more about and schools that are well-known that a lot of kids from BB&N apply to. You read up on them online, so you get the vibe of the type of kids that go there and what their classes are like. You can look into the programs that they have. That’s kind of how I decided: I found out if they had a program that I really liked.”

Grant Levinson ’23: “What is one thing I should know when I’m doing my college applications?”

Annie Stockwell ’22: “Start your work in the summer. Right when the Common App opens for the supplements, just start them, or at least brainstorm for them, because I know some people who didn’t do that, and they just had so much work to do this fall. Just do it bit by bit.”

Nina Khera ’23: “What is the most mentally challenging part of the whole process?”

Maddy Savitz ’22: “The most challenging part is the competitive nature of the college process and having everyone else in the grade going through it. You have that shared experience, but at the same time, you feel worse about yourself. My advice to juniors is focus on your own process and don’t worry about other people. In the end, the right school for you doesn’t have to be the highest-ranking school.”