By Jessica Berg
For many high school seniors, now is the time to think about what they want to do after high school. This is no different here at Tyrone Area High School. Day in and day out, seniors are applying for college and deciding what they want to do after graduation.
The process for applying isn’t easy. Many students have to research different colleges and decide what they want in a school environment. Some students prefer a bigger campus with many diverse people and for others they prefer smaller rural colleges.
Also, for some seniors, college isn’t even the way they want to go after graduation. Technical schools, career institutions, or even the military are other alternatives to attending college.
“It feels so weird to finally be the oldest in the school and to think I won’t be here next year,” said senior Macey Lucas
Like many seniors, Lucas is looking forward to prom and graduation.
Lucas has applied to Penn State and IUP. She has been looking into teaching math at the middle and high school levels because she remarked that she enjoys teaching and is good at math.
When Lucas looked at colleges, she looked for small class sizes, a nearby location, and a nice campus.
Lucas took about a week to complete each application because she was busy with other responsibilities for school and needed help from the school counselors.
“Students should really start looking at colleges at the end of their junior year at the latest. There are a lot of open house opportunities during the summer,” said Lucas.
Jessica Hoffman, senior, also shared her feelings about senior year.
“It feels weird to think that I will be out [of school] in a couple months,” said Hoffman.
In her search of colleges, Hoffman looked for location, her major and housing on and near the campus. Unlike some applications, her process of applying only took a few days.
“Do not wait. Start early,” Hoffman advised other students.
Hoffman has applied to Mount Aloysius, Lock Haven and Cedar Crest. She wants to major in nursing to become a Registered Nurse (RN).
With the absence of Mr. Eckberg, Mrs. Johannides, high school guidance counselor, has been helping many seniors apply to college.
“Many [seniors] students have been in the guidance office completing applications,” Johannides said.
Johannides advises that students to start the college application process early. According to her, students can start in 9th grade by taking their classes seriously and trying to get the best GPA possible. In 10th or 11th grade students should take the PSAT to prepare them for the SAT. Students looking for more help with PSAT and SAT prep should consider taking Mr. Everhart’s, English teacher, reading and writing prep class and Mrs. Marasco’s, math teacher, math prep class, she said, “These classes are proven to increase test scores.”
Many seniors have seen the positive outcomes of beginning the college process early and are encouraging underclassmen to do the same thing.
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