Every fall, seniors near and far rush to submit applications to universities all over the world. Morgan seniors are no different. So far this year, students have submitted over 700 applications, to schools ranging from local community colleges to the Ivy League.
Although streamlined in recent years with the widespread use of standardized application platforms such as Common App and the Coalition for College application, the college admissions process is still grueling and time-consuming. Typically, universities will require students to send in their Common App, which includes background information on the student and their family, as well as academic and extracurricular involvement. The Common App also requires a personal statement essay of no more than 650 words, students can choose from seven total prompts. Some schools will require additional supplemental information and essays on top of the standard Common App requirements. This can consist of anything from information about relatives who may have attended the university, to multiple short response and essay questions, or even an additional resume. For example, Princeton University has an additional seven essay prompts students need to respond to. There are many more parts of an application that can be equally tedious, such as the financial aid applications, alumni interviews, and receiving and sending letters of recommendation, transcripts, test scores, etc.
The process is made even more difficult by schools that require their own application, separate from the common app, such as Georgetown University, which requires its own essays and background information sections.
Although deadlines vary per school, typically the Early Action (non-binding early application) and Early Decision (binding early application) deadlines are in late October or early November. Regular decision deadlines are normally in early January. Morgan seniors shared their thoughts about the stress of the first semester with all the application work, as well as the relief of getting their decisions. Senior Julia White said, “Since I applied early action, I got my decision back two days before break, which was a big relief knowing I got in, and I was done.” Julia will be attending Endicott College in the fall. Many students still await the good news from their top choices. Senior Leah Scoppa explained, “The college application process was very stressful for me. I applied to 12 schools, and I do not hear back until the spring. I spent countless hours doing supplementals, but now that I submitted all my applications it is a relief, but still anxiety provoking.”
The most popular college among seniors was The University of Connecticut, with 53 students applying. UConn was followed by other Connecticut state schools: Southern Connecticut State University with 29 applications, Central Connecticut State University with 27 applications, and Eastern Connecticut State University with 26 applications. Connecticut seems to be a popular potential college location for seniors, with nine out of the ten most applied to schools being in the Nutmeg State. The Ivy League powerhouse, Yale University (ranked the 5th and 8th best university in the United States and the world, respectively), received 10 applications, making it the 9th most applied to college. Interestingly, the Ivy League was a popular application destination this year, with a staggering 37 applications sent to the renowned universities. Some students applied to multiple Ivy League schools, adding to the high number of applications.
To keep up to date with seniors’ college decisions, decision information will be posted on the Instagram account: @morgandecisions2024. (Account is student-run, and is not affiliated with The Morgan School or The Morgan PawPrint).
A full list of Morgan’s college applications as of 1/2/2024 can be found in an alphabetized table here.