COVID-19 has brought out a lot of fear in us all, whether it is the fear to go out, or the fear to be with the wrong people. To go along with this anxiety and fear, the college application deadline for early action on most schools just passed. Now filling out the infamous college application will be even more stressful.

Early action when applying for schools means that once you are accepted, it doesn’t mean you have to go to that school. Early decision is the exact opposite, if you are accepted, you must go to that school. November 1st was the deadline for early action applicants for most schools. Hopefully most of you have gotten it in, so you can choose what school you go to.

Since COVID-19 started,  most schools have gotten rid of the SAT and ACT as a requirement for getting in. This also means that schools will be looking more into the individual student and how much they have volunteered or how well they have done in school.  Students who thrive in everything but testing will have a good chance of getting into schools now.

When asked about what he feels about applying for school during a pandemic, Nathan Carson, a senior at Lakewood High School, said, “I always expected that applying for schools was going to be stressful, but actually COVID-19 has made it a lot less stressful for me. Since I do not test well, not having to send in my scores has really taken a lot of weight off of my shoulders.”

COVID-19’s effect on everyone is different, whether it makes college applications easier or harder. But since it is not going away anytime soon, we must fight through it and get what can done.