Galena High School students, whether they are freshmen or seniors, are navigating the college application process, and a recent survey reveals their top choices and strategies.
Maddie Ehrler is only a freshman in high school and is already thinking about her college plans. Ehrler said that she is planning on attending a two-year college that is out of state. Maddie has not decided on what college she wants to attend. Maddie’s three factors in choosing a college are if they have classes, what she wants to do, the cost, and the distance.
Galena High School Class of 2028 Leah Vincent said she plans to attend a four-year college that is out of state and wants to make at least five college visits. Vincent also said that her three factors for choosing a college are the cost, community, and location.
Sophomore Peter Wagner said he is planning on going to an in-state college for four years. Wagner’s top three priorities for choosing a college are what is the division of sports, the choice of classes and if they have what they want to major in, and the cost. Wagner also said that it is best to start looking at colleges during your junior year of high school.
Sophomore Brant Romer said that he would like to attend a four-year college out of state and his top three priorities for choosing a college are the cost, programs, and classes that are offered, and the location. Romer plans on five visits to colleges and thinks you should start researching your junior year of high school.
Location is something that students want to take into consideration when choosing colleges because when you are walking on campus or driving to school and home you want to make sure you are in a safe environment.
Junior Liliana Asta is planning on attending a four-year college out of state. Asta has made one formal visit but has visited many other campuses. Asta would like to formally visit another five colleges. Asta said, “You can start as early as you want but want to do more serious thinking your junior year of high school. Trying to visit as many colleges as you can is the best so you can compare prices and locations and courses that are offered there.”
Junior Kevin Perez wants to attend a four-year college out of state and the top three priorities are cost, distance from home and how good the college is. Perez has made two visits and thinks you should start looking into colleges as soon as you know what you want to major in.
Senior Quinlan Wells wants to attend a four-year college out of state and has made seven visits and plans to make two more visits. Wells said students should start looking into colleges as soon as possible so you can think about the sort of campus, facilities, and programs that would best fit your needs as a future student. The top three priorities in finding a college according to Wells are the campus, academics, and enough activities around the college to keep you busy.
Most teens in high school like to figure out what the cost is for the college that they may want to attend to make sure that they can afford it and see if they need to apply for financial aid. Another resource that can be helpful is that some parents can have a college savings account that students can use for their college expenses.
In conclusion, you can see that when deciding and looking into colleges you are most likely looking into the cost, location, college facilities, and many more they have to offer. Going back to Maddie Ehrler, thinking about college choices and factors that may come into consideration is very impressive for still having a few years of high school. Most Juniors and Seniors are still deciding.
