Finally, in your senior year, you get the “beautiful” privilege of going through the college application process, where you, well… apply to multiple colleges. I say “beautiful” because it is the one of the most stressful processes of your life, yet, as you have to write so much about yourself and about why you belong at a certain college, then pay a big fee and hope you get accepted.
As the process is as good as over, there is the amazing grace period, where you just chill out and no longer have to think about college applications.
That is until you get the decision letters, that say whether or not you are accepted. The anxiety of trying to figure out whether you got in or not is one thing. But once you are happy with your acceptance to at least one of the places you applied, then comes the real hard decisions.
Which college should I choose?
In my personal experience, I found many code fee waivers, so instead of applying to five colleges for $400, I applied to fourteen and only paid $100, $30 for one university and $70 for one abroad. However, only seven schools have replied so far, which is normal as many also respond in March. But, I’ve gotten accepted into all of them.
It is a good fact to celebrate, but as an eighteen year-old, who has depended on her parents her whole life, I still have so much fear of making such a big decision. Switching locations or deciding to stay can impact my life greatly, multiple scenarios of potential outcomes.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, “In 2018, … found that almost 39% of students who started at a four-year college transferred schools within their first couple of years.”
Such facts quite literally scare me, as someone who has moved so many times throughout her life, I want to choose a university and stay there for the time I need to until I get a degree. Transferring seems like such a big deal, and not something I’m personally interested in.
Furthermore, there are so many different factors to consider when choosing a university, your next home. Housing, price, location, scholarships, ranking, to name a few. And still, you have to pick one of them all.
Especially, what you want to study. According to LinkedIn “Many students may not have a clear idea of what they want to study or what career they want to pursue, which can make it difficult to select a college that offers the right programs and resources.” And while I, fortunately, don’t have that issue, I have seen friends who do.
My biggest issue, personally, is choosing whether I’ll study out of the country or within, all because of a silly little acceptance letter from Spain.
The way I have been dealing with this hard decision process so far is making a spreadsheet. My dad has always pushed me to make one for organization purposes, and I can safely say it has never helped me more. I have the university names, followed by the cost, scholarships, how to maintain them, if they have requirements, the final prize after the scholarship money is implemented, location, and my thoughts, a harsh red if no, light green if I’m considering, and bright green if I’m really interested.
It is no secret that deciding what college you want to go into is tough, but when you’re in that position, it feels much more stressful than you could’ve ever imagined. Organizing universities by interest and prize has helped me discard, but definitely not helped make a 100 percent sure decision, especially as I wait for others to reply. However, my biggest piece of advice is take a breath, organize it, and talk with your parents about it, but also view different possibilities of what you can pick by speaking to the universities themselves. There are more possibilities than you can imagine to help make your right choice as you leave to enter your adulthood.