By Lexi Davirro ’14

First semester senior year is by far one of the most stressful times. College is still a year away but Early Decision Application responses will be arriving soon, creating a massive amount of stressed out seniors waiting by the mailbox twiddling their thumbs. So why do so many seniors put themselves through the stress of applying Early Decision? Not only is the application and waiting process a challenge, but the social tension as well, as some students get in and others don’t.

Since Early Decision is binding, most students only apply “ED” if they fall in love with a school. “Why wait if I know that it’s the school of my dreams?” said senior Cameron Walker in regards to his early decision school. Walker feels as though “ the most important thing is how you feel when you set foot on campus. No amount of research can tell you how a school will be for you until you actually step foot there and meet the people,” Walker said. Senior Nico Carrino also says finding the right school is key to making early decision appealing. “I felt that I could be happy there,” Carrino said in regards to the school he chose. However, an anonymous senior student found applying early decision to be more of a challenge. “The more time that passes I’m realizing maybe it wasn’t my number one school,” said the anonymous student. Although this senior has some doubts about her choice, she still “loves the school [she] applied to because of its apparent freedom,” the senior said. Another anonymous senior, like Walker, knew it was the school for them when they got to the campus. “I could imagine myself there, and that’s when I knew that it was the school for me,” the senior said. Senior Amy Pinkus, like many others, visited many colleges before finding the right choice, but during her process she “was mostly searching for one that I felt at home at” and eventually she found a school that she “felt comfortable at,” said Pinkus. Senior Max Parker also applied ED because there’s “just a really good feel on campus” Parker said. Although it is bound to be stressful, knowing that if you get in to an early decision school, you have to go, most seniors feel confident in their choice.

Four years may not seem like a long time, but to many, college is the most important time of your life, which is why for many seniors, discussing which colleges they applied to is a sensitive topic. No one likes rejection, which is why most seniors avoid this by refraining from telling anyone where they are applying. “Personally I think sharing where you’re applying is like sharing test scores – people do it, but who really gains anything other than having something to gossip about for a few minutes,” an anonymous senior said. Another anonymous student agreed that people avoid the topic. “[ED is] sort of a taboo topic; no one either acknowledges or denies the fact that ED exists. This all has to do with the fact that kids either don’t want to jinx their chances, or they will feel embarrassed if they told someone what their ED was, and it turns out they got rejected,” the senior said. Carrino also recognizes why it is a sensitive topic, and although he personally chooses to be open about his ED, he understands why others are not. “It is hard enough accepting failure yourself, let alone admitting that failure to others.” Carrino said. Pinkus, like Carrino, is comfortable talking about her ED choice, but after awhile, it get’s uncomfortable to discuss it with people she hardly knows. “At first, it’s not that big of a deal or sensitive of a topic to discuss with acquaintances, but after spending the summer answering countless questions about it from people I had just met, it became more and more uncomfortable” Pinkus said.