Seniors have been filling out their college applications since August, and many continue to do so through February. Nevertheless, most seniors are still in the process of applying and waiting to hear from schools.

The class of 2017 had the highest number of seniors applying early to colleges in school history. According to this year’s statistics from counselor Kelly Farland, 57.7 percent of seniors applied early to colleges, compared to last year’s 46.4 percent. Approximately 90 percent of seniors have submitted at least one application to a college thus far.

This year, the average number of universities any given Loyola senior applied to was 13.

Since the senior class is still in the process of applying, it is too early to estimate the school with the highest matriculation. However, this year’s data from Farland projects that Santa Clara received the highest number of applications from Loyola.

Senior Jacob Wassily said, “Overall, this process has been very stressful for me. I am applying to many different colleges, including all of the UCs, LMU, USC, Santa Clara, SDSU and Arizona State. I finished my college apps early, so I’m not cramming, but I am still stressed about the application process.”

Counselor Mike Denison said, “This time period right now for seniors is very crucial, as they have multiple college applications due, finals to study for, as well as extracurriculars and homework. Many seniors are going through lots of stress right now due to pressure of getting into colleges because for many seniors and students at Loyola, college is very important.”

Wassily said, “I tried to finish my apps as early as possible because I don’t want to be stressed with finals, apps and homework. Balancing my time is very difficult, as college applications are very time consuming.”

In order to avoid the stress that comes with applications, counselors advised students to apply early. Counselor Kelly Farland said, “Early applications were due before November 1 to around November 15. This means that there is a lot going on with students writing their essays, teachers getting their recommendations in and the counselors getting the transcripts together. This early push for early action has alleviated some of the stress.”

Many seniors assert that the most difficult parts of applying to college are the essays and writing supplements.

Senior Vikram Chandran said, “Writing [the essays]within the given word-limit is the most difficult. Writing about yourself in a very personal way that you usually don’t do for school is difficult. These essays will determine which college I go to, which is definitely one of the most important things in my life.”

Senior Nick Miller said, “Having my applications due in a month, I feel very stressed as I am applying to multiple different schools, such as UNC, UT and University of Oregon. Balancing school work, extracurriculars, studying for finals, and writing many college apps is very stressful. There are so many deadlines to meet, and it’s very hard to meet all of them while balancing other activities.”

Most seniors will complete regular college applications in mid-January and will hear decisions from universities from early December until late March.