For most students, college can seem like a distant dream; except, of course, for the seniors that are attending next fall. So many decisions to make, applications to send, and all in the span of a few months. How do they do it? We caught up with some of KHS’ students to find out how they managed this daunting task this year.

When do you start looking at colleges and how did you figure out your majors?

Many seniors felt like a balanced approach was best when beginning their college search. “Start looking at colleges early, but at the same time don’t over stress-everything will work out,” says senior Kathleen Morrisroe. “For your major the best thing to do is find something you’re very interested in. Make sure to immerse yourself in that field, and if you don’t know, then don’t worry about it yet. You still have time.”

Still even once they’re applied, some didn’t want to commit to a specific major right away.“I’ve applied to my schools as undecided business because I’m not sure what branch I want to go in to,” says senior Jessica Lisowski. “I feel most people change their mind freshman year of college; you’re still trying to figure yourself out.”

Others, like senior Carly Giacoio, are following their lifelong passions and declaring right away. “When I was little, I liked writing a lot. During high school, I was debating between that and music. Eventually, I decided I would be upset if I went into music and not English, so that made my decision.”

Morrisroe is considering the same.“I was always interested in music, and really liked spending time with kids, so I figured that music education would be a good choice for me.”

How do you chose colleges you may want to apply to? How many?

A variety of factors come into play when choosing colleges. They differ from person to person, but are still very crucial. “When applying, I knew I wanted a good community, that supports all aspects of the university, a reasonable class size, and the best program to fit my personality,” says Morrisroe.

“Location was a deciding factor for sure, because I wanted to be in the city,” says senior Gina Lauria.

Once you have found what you are looking for in a college, next comes deciding which ones and how many you should apply to. “Apply to seven to ten colleges. More than ten is too much, but no less than seven because you need safeties,” says senior Samantha Aberbach.

Everyone has different opinions on this total, some more specific than others. “Six is a good number because you should have two safeties/backups, two realistic choices, and two dream schools,” says senior Arianna Cacioppo.

“Yeah, anything else may be going overboard-apply within reason,” agrees senior Brian Flood.

What are key things colleges look for in a student? How important are AP classes?

Now that we have discussed what students may look for in students, what about what colleges look for in students? “You have to show interest in your college. You can have the grades, and do extracurriculars, but if it’s a good school and you don’t visit, go to the seminars, or send letters, it lowers your chance of getting in,” says Aberbach.

Reaching out to the college you want to apply to is helpful, but what about the grades and essay students submit in their applications? “I feel like I got in to my college because I’m a good student. I showed good grades, was a good writer, and don’t feel they looked too much at AP classes I had taken,” says Cacioppo.

“Don’t worry about AP’s, they’re mainly good for showing a rigorous schedule, but that’s about it,” agrees Flood.

Then, there is a matter of extracurricular activities students have the option to participate in and list.“Test scores are really important, but so are extracurricular activities,” says senior Aubrey Mulaney. “Colleges look at both when you apply.”

What about the SATs, ACTs, and other forms of testing?

Throughout a student’s high school career, they typically have to take certain tests that colleges look at. “SATs and ACTs are really important, even if you have good grades,” says Aberbach.

“You have to take the SATs and it is very important, but that doesn’t mean your score defines you,” says Lauria.

When is a good time to start though? As with any other assignment there is no harm in getting a head start. “Be testing after freshman year. Starting the SATs and ACTs late isn’t good because the later you start, the less relevant the information becomes,” says Flood.

Any other pieces of advice for people who will be applying in the future?

Most students find their senior year a bit easier than other: certain classes are not mandatory, and as long as you have an A average in the class, you can skip out of all finals. “Senior year being a little less stressful made college apps easier,” says Lisowski.

Many students have different opinions on what was hardest about the process. Some have a harder time with the essays, others the interviews and more. Not to mention, the wait for results differs greatly between schools, and some students do not like having to wait too long for an answer.“I think writing my essay and figuring out all the activities I had done was the hardest part,” says Aberbach. “Most schools also release results relatively early, but others don’t let you know until later on in the year.”

What about the interviews: what are they usually like? “One interview I had was really scary: I didn’t know what to say, but typically, the people are really nice. It’s honestly not as bad as it may seem,” says Giacoio.

Some students do not find the idea of college to appealing, so there are other options to be considered. “If you don’t think you need college, you can consider it but there are other alternatives. For example: trade schools,” says senior Dominic Trapanese.

Colleges may differ in many aspects for each student, but there are some similarities in the programs.“College is fluent. As long as you maintain good work wherever you go, you can always transfer to other programs,” says Flood.

While some people start to plan out where they want to go and what they want to do at a young age, others are not as sure. Still, even if you start thinking ahead of time there is no guarantee that that things will go as planned. “Don’t be disheartened if things don’t end up how you wanted. Wherever you go, you’ll get a decent education, and college will be whatever you make of it,” says Lauria. As our seniors last few months of high school come to an end, and the future looms on their horizons, we wish them the best of luck, along with seniors in years to follow.

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