Where are you going and what do you want to study are two questions many high school students get asked. The college process describes the steps students take to begin searching for the school where they are going to start their next chapter. According to last year’s data, 76% of Oakdale students applied to college or a technical/trade school. Out of that 76%, only 60% of students ended up at a four year college. For most students, this process typically starts junior year.
I started my college searching process the summer before my junior year of high school. As a swimmer, I was able to start contacting college coaches for recruiting June 2nd 2022. I never had a “dream school”; therefore, when looking into where I wanted to go, my main focus was whether or not I could swim at the school. I used a website specifically for swimmers, where coaches could view my times to see if I would be a good fit for their team.
Starting the college search is different for everyone. Senior Will Salter shares, “I first started by looking at schools that had aviation programs and then looking if my grades and scores matched their averages.” Salter is focused on finding a school that fits his future career path, piloting.
The college process can be scary and stressful, but once you know what to do, it becomes very easy. Counselors have been pushing out information to students for years about how the process works. They give lessons about how to use Naviance and Common App to inform students on how to apply to schools.
Senior Josh Harris explains, “The process of searching for colleges has been easy, since colleges send information and everything is online, but the application part has been difficult because there are a lot of things to fill out and procrastinate on.”
He goes on to say, “The greatest challenge has been writing the essay because it’s hard to word it correctly, so that your point gets across, but you also don’t want to sound dramatic at the same time.”
Because I started the process so early, I had the chance to go on many visits and learn a lot about several schools. I learned what I liked in a school vs. what I didn’t. Before tours, I had phone calls and video chats with many different coaches to learn about their specific program. This greatly helped me decide which schools to visit.
Salter claims, “I am feeling good about college, I am especially excited to start because of my major being aviation which means that I will get to start flying soon. I think that it will be a great experience overall and will further my progress towards becoming a commercial pilot which is my career goal.” Salter is excited to choose a school, and be able to have his dream job.
Over the summer I went on a tour to Bloomsburg University and instantly loved the school. I had been in contact with the coach for a while and then finally decided to go visit. The school fits all of the criteria I was looking for. It is not too far away from home, it has a good swim program, and the campus is beautiful. I applied when the application opened, and got accepted two weeks later. Now I am going on an official visit the weekend of October 28th, where I will spend the night with the swim team, and after that I will commit to swim at the school.
Whether you are going to college for athletics or not, the process is pretty similar for most students. You first research different schools or areas you are interested in. Then you fill out your Naviance, and Common App profile to be able to write your application. When the application is complete, submitting it to the schools you choose can be very easy. Most students now are receiving results or still waiting to find out if they have been accepted or not.
Deciding where you’re going to continue on to after high school can be very scary and stressful. However the counselors at Oakdale provide you with so much information and assistance to make the college search smoother. Rather than being anxious and worried, be excited to see where this process takes you.
