Dread, stress, and suspense: feelings which students have felt in the days leading up to decision day for college admissions. One of schools that does a form of admissions known as standard admissions is the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Many had their eyes glued to their inboxes awaiting a response from the school on Early Action Deciison Day, which was Friday, January 26, whilst also praying to whatever higher power they believe in that they got accepted. 

Students felt mixed going into decision day. “I feel pretty confident. I think my application was pretty good. I hope I get accepted but if not it’s not the end of the world,” said Islam Alzamareeh.

“I applied for an engineering major as well as many of the people I knew. We were all stressed going into decision day,” said Rebecca Samuel.

Conversely, Jezabelle Saucedo said, “I didn’t feel very nervous, but when my teachers started talking about it, I started to realize it may have been a big deal.”

When it came to the topic of standard admissions vs. rolling admissions, the consensus was surprisingly mixed. Some preferred rolling admissions, like in the case of Saucedo, who said, “ If it were rolling admissions, it’d be a bit more beneficial. If the waiting time was shortened, it would decrease stress.”

Others have given mixed opinions, like Samuel, who stated, “I like the idea of all the answers coming out on the same day. It builds a community, but I also wish the waiting times were shorter so I’m not as stressed as long.” 

Samuel, who was accepted for computer science, also added that she “didn’t believe it” and that “it was great.”

The atmosphere surrounding U of I’s Decision Day, and decision days as a whole, appears to be rather unified. Everyone agrees that the idea of a decision day, especially one so far out from the application date, is quite stressful.

What was surprising, however, was the fact that the idea of rolling admissions was also not totally well received. This introduces a question; what do people want, if not standard admissions or rolling admissions? The best suggestion received was that of an amalgamation; standard admissions but with a shortened waiting time.

However, if there is one thing to take away from this, it is the way that a seemingly simple event is turned into one in which people can come together and bond.