As college deadlines close in, many seniors at Oliver Ames High School are feeling the pressure to get their essays, supplementals and recommendation letters in for early action. 

November 1st is the first deadline for most colleges. Although the college process can be very stressful, everyone is in the same situation trying to get applications in and waiting to hear. 

Sophia Pavao, a senior at Oliver Ames High School, has always been dedicated to her work. She hates to feel overwhelmed and likes to get things done beforehand. 

“It feels great to be done. All my applications are done, and I feel very relieved. I feel like there is a big weight off of my shoulders because I’ve been thinking about this since freshman year and I’m finally done,” Pavao said. 

Seniors everywhere are struggling to get things done. School, sports, outside activities and getting into college are all factors that make this time of year especially hard. Madisen Dykeman, a senior at OA, takes a minute to think before she explains her answer.

“I am feeling relieved and happy that I’m almost done. Right now, I’m in applications and I’m almost done. I just have to write some things for my essay, do some supplementals and then I’m basically done,” Dykeman said.

There is a feeling of calm and peace when something gets submitted before the deadline. Even though everyone is different most people feel relieved once all submissions are in. Senior Sadie Gilson looks up as she gives a puzzled look then she answers.

“It honestly feels good and I feel really relieved. I’m really excited to hear back from my schools because I don’t have any top schools, so I’m really excited to see what happens,” Gilson said.

Senior Laney Parker is really dedicated to getting into a good college. Like many other seniors, she wants to be on time and make sure her applications look perfect before they are submitted. Laney thinks before she calculates her answer.

“It’s really relieving to almost be done and I’m like excited. I am done applying to all except Umami and I think the hardest part was all of the supplementals and like trying to sound good and make sure all my grammar was right,” Parker said.

Throughout all the seniors there is a variety of how many schools people are applying to. With someone with a niche major, they might be applying to less schools than others. 

“I applied to a lot, I applied to 18 schools,” Parker said.

“I think I’m applying to like 9 or 10,” Dykeman said.

“I applied to 9 schools and all of them were close by because I wouldn’t want to go far,” Gilson said.

“I applied to 9 schools. I had all my applications done a month before and my essay was done for a while, but I actually submitted like 3 weeks before.,” Pavao said.

 “The hardest part of applications was hitting submit. Literally just like submitting them because I fill all them out and have them done for forever. I was just so scared to actually send them in and not be able to get it back and change it if I changed my mind,” Pavao said.