Williston’s class of 2025 has turned out to have a number of impressive college outcomes, despite what was one of the most competitive years for college admissions on record.
This year, Williston seniors faced a number of obstacles in the process of applying to college, making an already-difficult process even more complex. Yet in the face of these challenges, members of Williston’s class of 2025 have gained admission to numerous prestigious universities.
College admissions to many top universities have become incredibly competitive in recent years, and this year was no different; if anything, it was even more difficult to gain admissions this year, with a larger than average senior class.
According to U.S. Census data, the graduating high school class of 2025 is expected to be the largest in history, with a potential peak of 3.9 million graduates. This peak is expected to be followed by a slight decline in the size of graduating classes. With a historically large number of seniors vying for admission to college—and the number of available spots staying relatively stable—it was especially difficult for applicants to stand out.
Despite the selective nature of the college process, Charlie Lonergan, Associate Director of College Counseling at Williston, tries to think about college selectiveness on a school-by-school basis.
“While some suggest this to be an especially competitive year, in all honesty, every year is significantly competitive at many institutions,” Lonergan told The Willistonian. “As we have always done, we work very hard with each individual student to be certain that their college list is balanced, and that continues to be our goal with the Class of 2025.”
Considering the many factors that add to the difficulty of college admissions, Lonergan is proud of how this year went for the class of 2025. “We feel good about how the Class of 2025 has navigated the process,” he said.
Each year, students’ college preferences differ slightly, with certain types of schools and regions sometimes being favored over others. In the time that Lonergan has worked at Williston, students have mainly applied to the same schools; however, he has noticed some differences since the COVID pandemic.
“The bulk of the schools our students pursue are similar to those of when I started here,” Lonergan said. “Since COVID-19, it seems that more students have an interest in southern schools in warmer climates, and many of those schools are rising in admissions competitiveness as a result.”
This is not a trend that is specific to Williston; in recent years, a number of Southern universities has seen an increase in applications from Northern schools.
“Many high school students from the northeast seem to be sharing this increased interest in Southern schools,” Lonergan said.
The schools that the Class of 2025 has committed to so far include a wide variety of types of schools, ranging from small liberal arts colleges to larger universities. Some schools that students have committed to include Tufts University, four students, Yale University, two students, Cornell University, two students, one student to Amherst College and a number of students who committed to schools in the University of California (UC) system. These include UC- Santa Barbara (UCSB) UC Los Angeles (UCLA), and UC Davis.
Jack Berrien, a senior from Easthampton, Mass., who will be attending Yale University in the fall, told The Willistonian that despite the difficulties of the college process, he had access to resources at Williston that made the process easier.
“It was very challenging and a little bit overwhelming at times, but there were definitely resources and ways to kind of get ahead,” Jack said. “I think Williston did a good job in junior year, trying to gauge where we want to go and where we want to study.”
While Jack was applying to college, he tried to focus on his essays, which he considered the most important part of his applications.
“The big thing was definitely the essays, so I would definitely suggest working hard to write those and get feedback took a long time,” he said.
Additionally, Jack recommends that students who plan to apply to a school through the early decision round should still begin their other applications in case they don’t get in to their early decision school.
“If you’re applying somewhere early action or early decision, still work on your other applications in case you don’t get in,” Jack explained.
The Common App personal statement, which all colleges require, is often the element of an application that students focus the most on. For his personal statement, Jack chose to highlight the role that music plays in his life.
“I eventually settled on writing about piano, and how learning to improvise paralleled my learning to avoid perfectionism and being free to pursue what I wanted without fearing what others would say,” Jack said.
If Jack could give any piece of advice to students just beginning the college application process, it would be to focus on essays and to make sure that these essays appeal to different colleges’ qualities.
“Really try to get your essays done early but also remember to be individual to that college and imagine how you would fit into that college,” Jack said. “If you want to find the best place for you, you should customize your essays for that college.”
