The clicking sound of keyboards surround the room as seniors start writing their college essays. The energy in the room is an overwhelming feeling of stress. College Applications and college essays are the last thing seniors want on their minds as they begin the semester, but they are finding out how to prepare for college and what their next chapter is going to be.

Free college application day can relieve some stress and help provide financial aid for incoming college freshmen. Free College Application Day is a government-supported three day period that provides undergraduate and transfer students in Colorado the opportunity to apply to any public or private university with the waiver of an application fee. On Oct. 18-20, 2022 Colorado held its fifth annual free application day.

In recent years, Free College Application Day has turned from one day into three days of being able to submit applications. The change to three days is helpful to students so that they don’t have to worry about getting all of their applications done in one day.

The financial burden of college applications can result in a student not applying to a school that could potentially be a great fit for them. Free College Application Day can relieve that financial stress.

Free College Application Day is earlier than most admission deadlines which can be slightly stressful for students due to the fact that they will need to prepare sooner than originally intended.

However, this deadline can relieve some stress in the long run because seniors have a specific date to dedicate time to college applications. English 12 teachers have to work around these days to effectively support English students in their efforts to submit applications. Lauren Kohn is a part of the CP English 12 staff at Silver Creek and is a large resource to students if they need help with the college application process.

“It’s nice to have these dedicated three days, that teachers are preparing students to be ready for applications with common app and help with college essays,” Kohn said.

Common app is a website that provides over 1000 colleges that students may apply to with a single college application instead of having to fill out the same information many times on different application forms.

Senior year is full of exciting but stressful times. Having support systems and dedicated days to the college application is helpful. Free College Application Day has also given seniors opportunities of what schools they want to pursue and pushes them into looking into colleges that will best fit them.

“The Free College Application Day has helped me decide what school best fits me, the common app descriptions of different schools have helped me make my decision,” Malik Roth, Senior at Silver Creek says.

Applications do affect class time. English teachers have to adjust their lesson plans which can be difficult. However, the knowledge teachers have about the Common App and college essays is very helpful and rewarding for students.

The Free College Application Day is a great option that helps students financially and it can also relieve stress when it comes to paying applications fees.