College Application Season: 2025 Edition

With DeMatha being a college prep institution, this time of the school year is very busy. Seniors are hard at work on their applications, ready to begin the next chapter in their academic careers. While it can be an exciting time given the opportunity on the horizon, it is also stressful to complete all of the information needed and craft a personal essay worthy to be admitted to a student’s school of choice.

Fortunately, the Common App has made it easier to get through the process faster. Since it is a portal where most schools can be found, students don’t have to complete an individualized application for each institution. Within the Common App, deadlines must also be met with little to no exception. The student applying must decide between early decision, early action, or regular decision as to when he wants to submit his application.

Early decision shows colleges that a student is fully intending to go to their school once he is accepted, and he must withdraw any applications to other schools to show true commitment. Regular decision is more of a standard process, giving the student more time to fill out the application. Early action is the perfect mix of the two aforementioned phases because a student still hears back from the college promptly but it is non-binding, unlike early decision.

It is also an interesting time to apply to college since a lot of institutions are test-optional, meaning a student does not have to send his SAT or ACT score.

When talking to Mr. Sharps in the Counseling Center, he had a lot of great insights into what he does to help. His goal is to “help everyone get into their school of choice, meet everyone’s needs, and make sure they have a plan. Students should get something out of DeMatha.”

He also spoke about how proactive students are, commending how they use resources in Academic Support and visiting counselors. “DeMatha forces you to be proactive.”

Mr. Sharps thought that schools being on the Common App and their test-optional policies have been great to work with. “It’s convenient to have all schools in one place,” he said, describing how all the information a student inputs is saved and it’s as easy as the click of a button to apply.

COVID-19 caused schools to go test-optional, which Mr. Sharps described as allowing there to be more focus on the students’ transcript and extracurriculars, giving more insight to the person students are.

It’s no surprise that in-state universities receive the most applications from DeMatha students. Mr. Sharps says the University of Maryland is a runaway, with the most students applying there, with Towson and UMBC following. 

Seniors shared a wide range of different experiences. “It’s been stressful for sure,” said Joseph LeGloahec. “I still have some stuff to get done but I know it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

“I’ve known what I’m going to have to deal with for some months, so I’ve been pretty prepared about what to expect,” Jesse Kliman chimed in. “For applying for music, I need to make recordings of myself and I’ve filmed all of those already – and a lot of my college process is mostly writing, so I’ve been doing the best I can and prioritizing the schools with deadlines.”