Kevin Killeen and Juliana Kehoe
Editor in Chief and Staff Writer
One thing seems to be on every seniors’ mind as they enter the last stretch of the school year.
College.
So far, the class of 2011 has submitted a combined total of 981 applications to different colleges and universities (as of press time).
“I applied to five colleges,” said senior Henry Beggs. “I’m looking forward to making my own schedule, planning my classes and planning my own life [in college].”
Choosing a college takes a lot of time and students should consider a few things before applying. Location, cost and atmosphere of the school are important factors that students should keep in mind when submitting applications to different colleges.
Affordability is one reason why senior Drew Kodelja chose William Jewel.
“It’s free,” said Kodelja.
While some students cannot wait to get out of Missouri, senior Annie Paloucek wanted nothing more than to stay close to home.
“A lot of my friends are going there. It’s in the state. It’s cheap,” Paloucek said about why Mizzou is her college of choice.
“I applied to two out-of-state schools but realized that attending one of them wasn’t logical for me and my price range,” said 2010 graduate John Riti.
The idea of staying in Missouri does not appeal to sophomore Mitch Wride, who would like to attend Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and study to become a surgeon.
“I’ve only lived in Missouri for, like, three or four years, and I have no loyalty for it… I don’t really like it that much,” said Wride.
Junior Lajuan Moye agreed and said he’d like to leave Missouri and go to Lipscomb University because it has a really good sports program, and he enjoys the whole atmosphere of the school.
“I’m going to college in order for me to have a great life; I need to go to college and expand my education,” said Moye.
While many students would like to go to colleges away from home, community colleges are still a great opportunity for a cheap, in-state education.
Class of 2010 graduate, Emma Minor spoke about her experience at Meramec Community College.
“I feel like Meramec is a stepping stone between high school and college,” said Minor. “They don’t load on the homework. It’s not that hard at all. All the teachers are really good they make it easy for you.”
Through programs like the A plus program, attending some community colleges in Missouri are practically free for students.
“All I had to do was pay for my books. I paid $400 a semester,” said Minor.
College is a huge responsibility for students, with the burden of paying for tuition, organizing their own work and living on their own for the first time.
“The amount of responsibility is overwhelming. There’s no way you can be prepared,” said 2010 graduate, Brooke Daly, who attends Truman University. “You’re completely blind going into college; you have no idea the kinds of people you’ll meet and the teachers you’ll have.”
According to parentingteensabout.com, one of the best ways to prepare for college is to create a daily homework plan. Each day, draw out a simple schedule for the evening. It should indicate which hours the work will be done and what work will be done.
Another thing to do while working on a paper is to unplug the Internet from the computer. Some students have a bad habit of logging on the Facebook or other distracting websites.
Hang a large monthly calendar in the house and clearly mark all major paper and project deadlines and test dates. Doing this lets on clearly see a quick daily review of how much time is left before the test or due date.
Although studying while in college should be a student’s top priority, making friends and allotting time for a social life is part of the college experience.
Minor gave advice about how to meet new people on a vast college campus.
“It’s really important to go to event and make yourself known on campus because otherwise college wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t have any friends.”
Riti finished by saying, “Seniors should find a school that they can envision themselves in and go into college with an open mind because you’ll have a lot of opportunities to do stuff you really enjoy.”
