With graduation nearing, students wait for college acceptances, financial aid

Finding the right college can be very stressful for some seniors – but not all. According to Collegedata.com, 47 percent of American high school seniors say that finding and applying for colleges is the most stressful thing in their senior year.

Minnehaha Academy has had many different types of seniors when it comes to finding colleges. Some know where they want to go but have not been accepted yet, some have been accepted but haven’t received financial aid offers yet, and some still don’t know where they want to go.

Others have chosen a college; some may take a gap year between high school and college. Jas Watkins is a Minnehaha student who has applied to six colleges.

“Stress levels as of right now are a 3 out of 10, but before it was an 8 out of 10,” Watkins said. “At  first, it can be nerve-wracking because being accepted or not will determine the path that my life takes.”

It has been easy for her because she knew she wanted to go to the East Coast, specifically to the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. Her list of schools includes Loyola University Maryland, one of the schools she has been accepted to.

“I‘ve always known that during this period in my life, I would want to live in a big city,” she said.

She also considers the type of community.

“That’s why I decided to look for private institutions rather than public ones,” she said.

The application process was challenging when she applied to her first college.

“After applying to my first school, I started to build momentum and gained motivation to apply for more colleges,” she said.

All that is left for Watkins is to find out whether she will be accepted to the other colleges and consider their financial aid offers before making a decision.

Another Minnehaha student, Max Krumm, applied to 12 colleges. Finding the right college was very easy for him and was not a hard process.

“I knew I always wanted strong D1 athletics, a medium-sized college, and a college with a strong business and internship program,” Krumm said.

Krumm will attend his top choice, Texas Christian University (TCU), located in Fort Worth. He said he likes it because of the atmosphere, and he saw that they had a strong business program, speci!cally an accounting program.

”The city of Fort Worth was really fun and has turned into a major city, and having that near campus is really e#cient,” he said. TCU meets all of Max’s requirements, which is why it is his #1 school. Some of his requirements were specific locations, US or outside of the US, college size, sports teams, music programs, and a college that has a strong program for the major you want. Krumm has had a lot of help while trying to find colleges, specifically with the application process, which has made it easier for him.

“Personally, the application process was not bad,” Krumm said. “I had a coach help me brainstorm ideas for my essays, and she also helped tweak my errors when I finished writing a draft.”

His friends and family have strongly influenced his decision to attend college, encouraging him to do what he desires. “

I don’t worry too much if a college accepts or denies me because I know that no matter where I go, I will make the best of the situation,” he said. “I know God has a plan for me and I want to go wherever he calls me to go.”

Fortunately for Krumm, his dream came true, and he will soon become a Horned Frog.