For aspiring first-generation college student Jamia Walden, this year’s college application process was missing an essential element: in-person guidance.
“I would still have had to fill out my Common App. I still had to complete my FAFSA and (Residency Determination Service form),” said Walden, a senior at Jordan-Matthews. “The main difference was just that I didn’t really have somebody to hold my hand and walk me through those processes because I am a first-generation student.”
Fewer extracurriculars, no college tours, waived standardized exams and more challenges — that’s what applying to college during a pandemic looks like. Stuck at home during remote learning, Chatham’s seniors struggle with time management, isolation from a supportive school environment and little familiarity with the college process. Though many students had the resources to overcome these challenges, that didn’t mean the process was easy.
“I think it’s been more difficult than ever,” said Sherry Andrews, a retired CCS counselor, “because they don’t have that daily contact with anybody.”
“Let’s just say that the whole college application process looks nothing like it has in previous years,” added Sandra Young, a counselor at Chatham Central.
‘It feels like you’re the only one going through it’
At one point, Walden had six college applications due the same day — and procrastination, a habit she thinks online learning has increased, made it worse.
“I think it was a little bit more stressful than I thought it would be only because I don’t think I realized that all of my applications were due on the same day until maybe three weeks before they were due,” Walden said, laughing. “I was just baffled.”
Jordan-Matthews senior Daisy Lavariega also found it difficult to efficiently manage her time. She began applying to colleges in early fall and has since applied to about eight.
“Having to balance applying to college and opening web portals and writing essays and still managing to keep my grades up — I think that has just been very stressful because at school you have the separation of ‘at school,’ and then you have the separation of ‘at home,’” she said. “And then here it’s like your school is your home.”
And that’s not necessarily the environment she and other students need — or expected.
Before, if Lavariega had a question, she could simply walk up to her teacher and talk in the hallway or during a free period. Now, she has to schedule Zoom meetings and come prepared with a list of questions — and there’s no one standing beside her to say her application’s ready.
“You had to do everything by yourself, and it was hard because if you didn’t know and you had to ask the teacher, you had to wait until they answer you,” she said. “And sometimes they don’t answer you till the next day because it’s past school hours.”
Lavariega said she found herself sweating the small stuff. She even stressed over inserting her basic information, such as her name and gender.
“You have no one else to double check your work,” she said. “Not a teacher, not someone that has years of experience (and who) is sitting there and going through and they’re like, ‘OK, you did good.’”
Learning, working and struggling together in school with your classmates — that’s the kind of solidarity from which students could no longer draw strength.
“When you’re at home,” Lavariega said, “it feels like you’re the only one going through it even though you’re not.”
In the classroom, Walden added, the application process felt like a “community struggle.”
“This year, that was a little bit different … especially if you’re coming from a household of people who didn’t go to college,” she said. “You can’t go to them and ask them for advice, and it feels like your resources are a little bit more limited.”
Remote learning sometimes even impeded some students with unreliable WiFi or limited internet access from applying to college.
J-M senior Kevin Manzanarez, for example, has six siblings also accessing their home’s internet — leaving him seeking internet connection elsewhere.
At Chatham Central, many of Young’s students had unreliable internet, which made scheduling meetings and help sessions difficult. To meet with such students, she started driving to a few of their houses to sit socially distanced in the driveway while they talked through the application process. She’d also sit outside Chatham Central with students while they worked on applications.
“It’s my job to make sure those details get worked out for that student,” Young said. “And I’m going to do my job in that area.”
‘There are good resources out there still’
Andrews runs a blog for college readiness — “Beyond the Classroom” — and she’s been encouraged by CCS’s added resources.
“I think (schools have) really done a good job of trying to make more students more successful,” Andrews said. “Because they’re at a disadvantage as teachers and the students are at a disadvantage, just not being in person.”
Young said she usually hosts a series of workshops for families and students about the college application process. Typically, they host several workshops in one night so families can attend the sessions most relevant to them.
“With us not being able to have families come to the school, that has been a daunting process,” Young said, adding, “Through Zoom, we are now individually helping every senior go through what is it that (they) want to do after high school, let’s look at the different options.”
These one-hour Zoom calls address preliminary application steps such as setting up a college application account, making a personal email and discussing goals. Then, she talks with students about personal statements and financial aid.
Needless to say, it’s a lot more work for her and other counselors, but with such important information, Young said group Zooms weren’t working.
“That’s why you’ve got to make sure that you are meeting with each student individually — making sure that stuff is correct,” Young said of technical steps like requesting a transcript.
Counselors also rely on other systems of support within the schools, Young and Andrews said, such as college preparatory systems or groups. Walden, Manzanarez and Lavariega are all in these groups, which they say helped them overcome many challenges associated with applying to college — generally and during a pandemic.
All three students participate in AVID — Advancement Via Individual Determination — which emphasizes college readiness and other skills such as writing, collaboration and organization. Manzanarez is also in the Hispanic Liaison’s youth group, Orgullo Latinx Pride, a group dedicated to helping its members to reach some form of higher education.
His OLP connections helped him plan and proofread his college essays, while his teachers and counselors helped him fill out his FAFSA forms via Zoom. They’d also “check up” on students, he said, reminding them of deadlines and sending them various scholarship opportunities.
“It’s hard for us to find the information or fill in the things for it,” he said, “but … we had different teachers and counselors setting up different appointments to finish a FAFSA and everything, so that part of the application process was pretty simple.”
Now, Manzanarez said he’s already been accepted into six different colleges out of the nine he applied.
“I’ve turned in a couple of scholarship applications as well,” he added, “and because of their help, I’m a semi-finalist for the Dell scholarship.”
Lavariega started the college application process in her AVID classroom last year. As part of their preparation work, she and her fellow classmates practiced writing college essays.
“Whenever it was time to apply, I was like, ‘Oh, this is a different prompt,’” she said. “But it’s similar. You can use the same essay, just change it up a bit.”
Writing college essays was the biggest challenge for Jose Martinez-Quiroz, another J-M senior in AVID, but he said his teachers supported him through it. After applying to seven colleges, he decided to attend Davidson College next fall, in hopes of studying psychology.
“It was harder for me to have access to my teachers for recommendations or for any help at all,” he said of the application process, “but it also helped me motivate myself and not let myself be derailed by something out of my control.”
During remote learning, Lavariega said she conferred with her AVID advisors and teachers for help via Zoom. She also relied on her family, who she called her “biggest support system.” Her older sister, a college student, helped her fill out her FAFSA form.
“My mom always told us that she came here for us to have that opportunity,” Lavariega said. “She came here for us to be able to pursue something that she nor my dad was able to pursue, and I think that’s the main thing that has always encouraged me.”
Walden’s parents didn’t understand the application process or know how to help her, but she felt prepared by help she received from teachers, counselors and college programs like AVID and Upper Bound at UNC-Chapel Hill.
By November, she submitted all eight of her college applications before the early deadline. So far, she’s been accepted into five.
Like many high school students across the country, Walden couldn’t take the SAT or ACT before applying because of COVID-19 cancellations. Nationally, many colleges waived the requirement to report test scores.
While that was a relief, Walden said it also put a lot of emphasis on her application’s essays. Working with the right teachers was important, she said, to catch any grammar mistakes and to make her message clear.
Because of AVID and Upper Bound, Walden said she visited every college she applied to. She also feels the programs empowered her to talk with admission counselors after Zoom information meetings.
“It’s definitely helped,” she said of the programs. “I am a minority, I am a first-generation student, I come from a low-income background and all this other stuff — but I knew the terminology ahead of time.”
Martinez-Quiroz also thanked AVID and Upper Bound for his preparation.
“I knew what was awaiting me in my senior year,” he said. “I was prepared and knew what had to be completed ASAP, so nothing caught me off guard.”
For students who aren’t in college preparatory programs and might be feeling overwhelmed as they finalize applications, Walden said several online resources helped her get started.
“There are good resources out there still,” Walden said. “Even if you feel like you don’t have that extra support, you just have to look for them.”
Reporters Hannah McClellan and Victoria Johnson can reached at hannah@chathamnr.com and victoria@chathamnr.com.