INDIAN SPRINGS – Indian Springs School gave rising seniors the opportunity for a head start on the college application process before the school year even began.

The school’s first College Application Boot Camp was held on Friday, Aug. 11, with 18 students receiving about the Common Application from ISS Director of College Advising Amelia Johnson.

“Over the summer, I get a lot of questions from students about when they can or should begin applying to college, requests for review of essays or other written materials, and students seeking feedback on the lists of colleges they’re considering applying to,” Johnson said. “Especially toward the end of summer, many students begin to get nervous about what the college application process will bring, so I spend a lot of time providing information and working to help them calm down a little before school starts.”

At the Boot Camp, Johnson went over various aspects of the Common Application before students spent time working on the application.

Information entered into the online Common Application program can be shared with all colleges of the student’s choosing—eliminating the need for the student to enter the same information on multiple applications.

Common Application also prompts students for college-specific requirements, such as essays.

“We’re giving them the chance to get some of the tedious work out of the way before school starts,” Johnson said. “It takes a little of the stress off of them.”

Classes begin at Indian Springs on Aug. 22.

Rising senior Noah Walton was one of the students who attended the Boot Camp.

Walton said the session was the first time he has looked at the Common Application.

“It’s not that scary—just a little time consuming,” Walton said. “I figured this would help me on my college search journey.”

The Boot Camp will be offered again next year, Johnson said, and there will also be two additional, shorter sessions in September for students who missed the August session or who want to do some follow-up work.

“Students’ next steps this fall will be continuing to work on essays and supplemental questions asked by individual colleges; these require deeper thought and revision so they should be worked on over time,” Johnson said. “Also, most students will be continuing to research colleges and figure out what their final college list is going to look like up until November or December.”