Spring is coming soon and colleges are beginning to make admissions decisions. Students are beginning to accept or deny their acceptance letters.

  This is also the season where high school student’s stress is skyrocketing.

  “The process is nerve wracking,” said Masumah Zara (12).

  “It’s stressful and gives me anxiety,” said Maracelle Nasrat (12).

  “It’s really stressful because you think you’re done once you Send your completed apps in but then you have to make the portals, send scores and you don’t know if you’re accepted or not until March,” said Anika Yoder (12).

  The common feeling of anxiety may be partly due to the fact that the time between admission and acceptance or rejection is usually long.

  Many people have a school where they feel secure and confident that they will get accepted.        This varies for everyone but having a safety school is always a good option.

  “I’ve gotten into one school so far— SF State. Which is comforting to know that I have somewhere to go but I’m anxious to hear the UC decisions which are in March,” said Masumah Zahra (12).

  Another concern when applying for colleges is the realization that college may bring someone farther away from their family and loved ones than they are comfortable with. Leaving this stage of life for another means making sacrifices and some more than others. This aspect may also affect which college a student chooses to go to.

  Maracelle Nasrat said “I have been accepted to schools but they are out of state and I would prefer to stay in California. The schools out of state have offered me scholarships which is great but I don’t want to be far from my family since the majority of them live here. Also right now I feel a little bit lost with where I want to further my studies but am hoping for the best!”(12).

  Scholarships are a great way to save money when going to college and if a college offers a student specific scholarships it may begin to look like the better option. Things like this are what can separate one college from the others.

  “College admissions are going okay, i’ve only heard from one college, which I got accepted to, out of 8 so far,” said Giovanna Potestio (12).

  “College admissions are going pretty good so far. It hasn’t been hard since I only applied to state schools like Chico, Sacramento State, and Fresno State. I haven’t heard back from any yet though since I didn’t do the early acceptance stuff,” said Madison Leiser (12).

  Once accepted to colleges, people begin to weave out what they like about each school and weigh their options to see which one they like enough to attend.

  Friends and family motivate each other throughout this experience and express their happiness with their loved one’s accomplishments.

  Masumah Zahra said, “I’m really proud of my friends who’ve heard back from numerous schools , like UC Berkeley or Purdue University” (12).

  This is a time to stay positive and appreciate all of the events in life that have lead students to this point. Many people’s dreams are coming true if they had always wanted to go to a specific school and are finally being accepted.

  No matter what path people choose to take, they all have the possibility to get where they want to be in life and should never give up hope moving forward.