Admissions process stressful for first-generation college student

By Whitney Burdette
Riverside High School

As a high school senior, I can’t wait to graduate and move on to college. But as a first-generation college-bound student, I never fully realized just how long and complicated the college application process really is.

Because my parents never went to college and I am the oldest child, no one in my family has experienced all the college searches, admissions applications, campus tours and financial aid forms before. But I’ve learned over the past year just how complicated all of this can be.

Going into my senior year, I thought I was prepared for college. I had the grades and the test scores, so there was no doubt I would get in and qualify for at least some scholarships. I thought I’d fill out a few applications, apply for some scholarships and wait and see. Wrong.

I’ve been extremely busy from the get-go. On top of challenging schoolwork and a part-time job, I have visited three schools, asked for numerous recommendation letters and spent countless hours on FastWeb and other scholarship search engines. My guidance counselor and I have never talked so much. And needless to say, I have never been so stressed.

To me, the most difficult part was understanding financial aid. I qualified for the coveted Promise scholarship, which pays for tuition and fees. However, upon reading the fine print, I discovered that it doesn’t cover a lot of the extra fees colleges often charge students, such as lab fees. It also doesn’t cover room and board, so I’ve had to apply for additional scholarships to cover those costs.

But the worst part of financial aid is filling out and understanding the FAFSA. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a crucial application that no college-bound student can afford to ignore. In order to qualify for a lot of scholarships, including the Promise, the student must have the FAFSA on file with the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.

Not only does this document qualify students for scholarships, but it also may allow them to qualify for government money that they don’t have to repay. This application can be filled out on-line or on paper, but either way, it is long and very detailed.

And although scholarships pay for college next year, this past year has been very expensive. First were senior pictures, then two ACTs and one SAT, two AP tests, prom and graduation.

Add in trips to tour campus, application fees and a housing deposit, and I started to think that maybe they should offer scholarships to help pay for senior year, too.

But now that graduation day approaches, I feel like I’m finally ready to go. I’ve been accepted into Marshall’s journalism program and registered for orientation. The only thing I’m waiting for is dorm information. A lot of my friends are going to Marshall, too, so I’ll know some people right off the bat.

I started this year a nervous wreck about college. But now that it’s almost here, I have mixed emotions. It will be hard leaving my family and my friends, but I know that it’s something I have to do. My whirlwind senior year has taught me, my parents and even my younger sister a lot about the college admissions process. I’m just thankful it’s almost over.