Every year, around December, seniors eagerly send in their applications to colleges, hoping to hear back with good news. Approximately four months later, they either check their mail or check their college application page, and receive the decision. Either they got accepted, or sadly in many cases, they get rejected. The decision from there shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Wrong. Some say the most difficult part of the college application and acceptance process is choosing which college to go to. Manaal Farhan, a senior at South Lakes High School, said “For me, the most difficult part of the [college] process is deciding what school I actually want to go to because it’s basically the foundation of my future, so I don’t want to make the wrong decision.” After all, the hard work and effort that students put into applying, taking multiple subject tests, and writing essays for their colleges should pay off.

The whole process starts with selecting schools that a student might apply to. Britteny Lund said that “It’s really exciting because it was one of the first adult decisions I’ve had to make. I felt very independent and in control being able to decide for myself where I was going next year and going through the process to make that happen.” It’s not always a smooth ride though. Britteny continues to describe the challenges she faced during the process. “It’s really overwhelming because there’s just so many schools out there and so many scholarships and opportunities that I’ve never been exposed to before.” Next comes the application itself. For some students, such as Britteny, their choice college is already selected at this point and they only apply to that one college. “I have pretty much been sure of my decision of where to go to college since I was really young, so I can’t relate to other people who had to search for the right place for them, but I can only imagine how difficult that was.” she said. “(Apply) to only one school if you can believe in it!” She recommends to other seniors who are applying to colleges. “It was really risky for me because I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to get in, but I just knew that’s where I wanted to go next year and I didn’t want another alternative, so I took the risk and thankfully it paid off!” Britteny Lund will be attending BYU this coming fall semester.

For those students who applied to multiple colleges, the decision on where to go can be quite tough. Nyil Khan weighed in on what it’s like to select his choice of school. He will be going to the University of Southern California this coming fall. “There’s a lot of things to consider when choosing what school to go to. I didn’t want to be too far from home, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I also had to focus on scholarships and financial aid that each college offered me.” he said. It’s very important that students consider every aspect of the school that they will be attending, whether it be price, location, or rankings.

Another senior, Devin Cintron, describes what it was like for him to have to make such a difficult decision. Devon, who will be attending Stanford University this fall, weighs in on what it’s like to go through the college application and acceptance process. When asked how he decided where to apply in the first place, he says “In high school my first choice school has changed every year. In the beginning of freshman year I wanted to go to UVA. Sophomore year it was Columbia, and Junior year (it was) Harvard. This past fall it was Wharton, and then when I was deferred it became a 3-way tie between Harvard, Yale, and Stanford.  I can absolutely say that Stanford is my first choice, but it wasn’t my first-first choice.” After going through the whole process, Devin finalized on his decision to go to Stanford. “Selecting where you’re going to go to for the next four years can seem like a pretty difficult decision, but I think making a big deal out of it only serves to make it more stressful. There are 100+ phenomenal colleges in the U.S. so wherever you end up deciding is going to be great. I applied to the schools that I felt have the best opportunities for what I want out of college. Regardless, I really do think that the most important thing to keep in mind is that what you do in college matters a hell of a lot more than where you do it.” He said, when asked why he chose that school. He also to gives some useful advice to fellow students and underclassmen: “Do not attach yourself to a single school. College admissions are impossible to predict, so it’s important to have multiple places where you can see yourself being happy. After all, there truly are no bad colleges and you’ll have a good time wherever you end up.”