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Every year on May 1st, high school seniors are required to make a decision on which college or university they are attending in the Fall of the next school year. For others, who began the college decision process earlier, May 1st is the day for those celebrating the journey to their decision.
Throughout the process, there are many factors to take into consideration, such as costs, not only of tuition, but room and board and also factors such as location, academics, and how financial aid is applied. According to a survey that was completed by juniors and seniors in the Nashua School District, about 69% of them said that the location of the school affected their final decision. Along with that, about 44% of them said that tuition is the top priority in their decision making process.
It’s important to research the schools before going on college tours. Many students take advantage of college tours to begin the process of searching for the right college. When looking at colleges it can be extremely overwhelming because things begin to get more real as the days go on. College is a way to begin your journey into the real world with more independence, and vast opportunities. The biggest thing to remember, is that as hard or frustrating as it can be, remember you are not alone, seniors from all over the country are experiencing the same emotions.
Student athletes tend to reach out to colleges and start touring between 6 months to 1 year earlier than most traditional seniors to begin their athletic recruiting process. South senior Camden Brien says “I reached out by emailing the coaches, then I spent time looking at the financial side of things and just wanted to see what they had to offer,” before making his final decision on a school. He informs us that he toured five schools in total and had loved Southern New Hampshire University all along. With that said, Brien’s hard work allowed him to be recruited as a Division 2 track athlete at SNHU.
Another student, North senior Kailee Deleo says, “I toured 2 other schools and had a few others in mind while going through the process. I always had a feeling Curry was the one. It wasn’t until going on a tour with my dad and the coach, as well as hearing from some of the girls that are currently on the soccer team, that sealed the deal for me.” When it came down to making her final decision she also said “After my second tour of Curry College, there wasn’t much preparation before making my decision. I just weighed out the pros and cons of each school and Curry had very minimal cons.” It is clearly important to have a gut feeling for the school you choose.
Students who are not participating in sports have a different experience through the college process. They may focus more on other attributes of the school. They may feel it is important for them to choose a school based on a location, tuition, room and board, student life, clubs, extra curricular activities as well as academics. They would want to pay attention to the student life of a school because they are looking for all the other opportunities campus offers. North senior, Mckayla Keraghan states “Since I’m living at home, my plan is to meet new people and still go to campus activities to stay involved and still have a social life.”
College decision day is a time to celebrate all of the positive and negative things that happened along the way, leading up to making a final decision that will set you up for a bright future. This is the time that shows all the hard work on applications, time spent writing essays, college tours, and how the SAT scores will be rewarded. Decision day was created to appreciate the dedication and hard work put into these requirements. Decision day is how you start the next chapter of your journey in life.
