by Elise Yang ‘27

College application season.  A daunting time for most students. Throughout their high school career, students worry about what they must do in order to get into the best college or university for them. By the time students reach the start of their senior year, many find themselves wondering what they could’ve done better to increase their chances at acceptance to the colleges and universities that they hope to attend. Sherwood has long had a reputation as a “sports school” that also has the long-running Rock ‘n Roll Revival musical. When colleges consider a student’s application, what else are they looking for besides participation in sports, performing arts, and, of course good grades?

“Sherwood is known for its athletic achievements,” said College and Career Advisor Jenny Davis, but is that enough to support students past graduation? For the Class of 2025, 65 percent are attending a four year college and 25 percent a two-year college, according to the 2025 School Profile for Sherwood. In terms of other extracurricular involvement, Sherwood has 120 clubs this school year, and around 100 of those clubs are considered active, according to health teacher Heather Winans, the school’s ECA director.

However, as students have noticed, many clubs formed by students foster little activity and impact, often created by panicked upperclassmen rushing to fill their resume. Erwin Hesse, the CEO of a specialized college coaching program called the Admission’s Gambit, said this immense pressure for students to please prestigious colleges comes from the “over sensationalization in the media,” and that “what we see in the data and the research is that there’s little to no statistical difference of student satisfaction and student opportunities whether you’re at Harvard or University of Maryland or Towson.” Hesse encourages students to think about what a “top college” actually means to them, and reconsider the types of schools they wish to attend.

Even having good grades, volunteering and club involvement, and solid test scores doesn’t always suffice,, and highly selective schools like UMD review thousands of almost perfect transcripts, exceptional SAT scores, and extracurriculars, according to Hesse. Naviance shows that in 2025 only 69 Sherwood students were accepted to UMD out of 192  that applied for a 35-percent acceptance rate.
Hesse said that students should ask themselves, “what makes you unique?” and that they should pick activities they have real passion for. “If today was your last day on earth, is this something you would be spending your time on?” Hesse added about choosing activities that they truly care about doing.

Davis also described the importance of meaningful extracurricular activities that showcase a student’s  in addition to their courseload, grades, and leadership roles to better understand how they would contribute to the school’s community. One of the biggest mistakes students make is waiting to take the application process seriously until it’s too late, according to Davis. “Take advantage of all the resources here in the building,” she said. ”Scheduling a one-on-one meeting with your counselor, or with me in the Career Center; read the announcements and opportunities sent to your email … like webinars, evening meetings in-person that cover topics such as navigating the college search process, financial aid, financial literacy to help you pay for college and scholarship opportunities.”

Compared to 10 years ago, surveys have shown a drop from “75 percent to 33 percent [of high school seniors] saying ‘I want to go to a postsecondary education’ or ‘I want a four year degree,’” said Hesse, who attributes this drop to the “outrageous costs of higher ed” seen on the “sticker prices of prestigious institutions promoted in the media.” Hesse said that, in reality, the net tuition cost is actually going down and college is much more affordable than students may think.

Ultimately, colleges want to see students with passion, ambition, and drive, not for something fabricated for admissions officers to see but for something they truly believe in. Although what a student does in high school doesn’t directly dictate success or performance after graduation, Hesse noted, “if you don’t get involved in clubs, if you don’t have strong grades, you’re signaling to me that you’re accepting mediocracy.”