Once the new year hits, colleges start to send out decisions. In January and February, Early Decision and Action applicants hear from admission offices, and then regular decision letters follow through March and April. And for many of the seniors waiting to hear if they got accepted, deferred, or rejected form their dream schools, it can get stressful. Making a choice that could potentially change the rest of their lives at 17 or 18 years old is hard, and there are so many factors that play into it.
Scott Crosby, College and Career Counselor in Coronado’s Future Center, believes that one of the main stressors for students making enrollment decisions is the cost because between filing FAFSA and scholarship applications: “It takes a while to compile all that information, and therefore, it just delays the decision making for college.” Many students worry about how they are going to pay for a lot of big, prestigious schools, especially if they don’t have financial aid readily available.
In order to help some students eliminate the stress of finances when it comes to getting a degree, D11 has in place the D11 promise, which allows students to attend Pikes Peak State College for free for two years. This option is great for many, especially if PPSC offers the program that they want to pursue.
Aside from cost, a big part of a school that obviously needs to consider is the location and size of the school’s campus. Mr. Edmund, English and EDGE teacher, encourages every student to ask themselves, “Do they want a big school or a small school?… Do you want to live away from your parents?… Do you want something new?” These are things that are different for every student, and knowing the answer is crucial to the decision making process. Mr. Crosby also emphasizes the importance of visiting at least once school: “It can make a huge difference in your decision making process… go visit the school and do in-depth tours, or stay for several days in the summer” and most importantly, “anything that immerses you more on the vibe of the campus, more than just looking at a website.”
Even with a big checklist of things to do while making a life-changing decision, there are always ways to get help. One of the main resources that is sort of new to Coronado is the College EDGE, AKA the College and Career Readiness class taught by Mr. Edmund the past two years. In the class, students spend the entire semester researching colleges, careers, and scholarships. Mr. Edmund helps walk students through every step of the process when applying for schools and scholarships, and it is all for a grade, so students are essentially forced to get ahead on all things college and career. Reed Evans, Class of 2026, took the class 1st semester of his senior year and found it very helpful, saying without the class “It would have been really hard for me to learn a lot of things I did or just finish the work… especially as a busy senior you have school, you have sports, and you have clubs, then you have college too? That’s a whole other thing.” He goes to say that every student even the slightest bit stressed about college should take the course.
While the class is just one resource for many students, do not hesitate to reach out to your grade level counselor, or Mr. Crosby to get more information. The Future Center frequently has people from different colleges and career fields for students to talk to and explore!
