A Step Towards Our Future

As a fifth year student at Brentwood, I’ve seen many students before me go through the stressful, time-sensitive mission of applying to university. I was able to sense the panic emanating from the Grade 12s as they rushed towards the University Counselling office, muttering to themselves, “Deadlines, deadlines, why are there so many deadlines?” or “Why do I have to write a different personal statement for each application, why can’t they all be the same?”.  The younger version of myself would quietly giggle as I saw these poor souls frantically try to organize their future and decide what area of study/profession they would like to be in for the rest of their lives.  I told myself that I would never let myself be in the same position. I told myself that I would make my decisions early and I would have all of my applications completed far before any deadline approached. I told myself that I would never have to be stressed about applying to university. How hard could it be, at the age of seventeen, to make a life-changing decision that would determine how I spent the next few decades of my life? Surely, it couldn’t be that difficult. I was wrong. Almost everything I thought I knew about applying to university was wrong. It is not easy to meet deadlines: some information needed to be submitted less than a week after the school year began. It is not easy to decide what we would like to study: there is an endless list of possibilities and opportunities for us to explore. It is not easy to decide where we would like to go: there is a multitude of factors to consider.  Thankfully, Brentwood offers an incredible resource to help students navigate these choppy waters: the University Counselling Office. Mrs. Coull, Ms. Beausoleil, and Mr. Rodrigues each have an extensive background in guiding students through the university application process, and they have been able to provide amazing support and knowledge to hundreds of Brentwood graduates. Available at almost all hours of the day, these wonderful counsellors have helped us frightened students through the application process. They have helped us realize what parts of the world we would like to study in, what we are passionate about, what kinds of universities we would like to attend.  Most importantly, they have encouraged us to take the next step towards our future. Now, back to my personal statement! Zjaya D, Allard ‘19