From the desk of a college sophomore

With all the Class of 2022 Seniors graduating within the last few weeks, many of these students are either working, going to trade school, or getting ready for college. I was just like those students approximately one year ago when I graduated in the Class of 2021 from Kingston High School.

I chose the college route for myself because I had received scholarship offers to run track and field and I wanted to go to college. I remember feeling the stress of making sure I had everything ready for my new chapter in life.

I also had felt overwhelmed at times due to the stress of applying to the right schools, getting great grades, and filling out scholarships. Because of my recent experience, I decided I want to help students, parents, and teachers by telling them about my experience from my freshman year of college.

I want to talk about three different topics whelmed at times due to the stress of applying to the right schools, getting great grades, and filling out scholarships. Because of my recent experience, I decided I want to help students, parents, and teachers by telling them about my experience from my freshman year of college.

I want to talk about three different topics that are important in the college process.

The first level of stress for an incoming college student is finding the school that’s a perfect fit.

I made a list of schools that I categorized as safe, reasonable, and reach. Safe colleges were colleges I knew I would be accepted into and could afford easily.

Reasonable colleges had some sort of challenge, but I knew I could manage it. Reach colleges were one I questioned whether this would be a good option. This list helped me with my organization and painted a picture of what schools would be my best choice.

I made a spreadsheet of 25 different colleges that had shown academic and/ or athletic interest in me. I wouldn’t encourage looking at this many schools, though. This process was very timeconsuming and stressed me out since there were so many.

Ideally, find about 10 to 12 universities, and make sure you put three or four in each category. This will be less stressful than what I originally did, but it will be just as beneficial.

The second level of stress for starting college is scholarships. My suggestion is to fill out any and all possible scholarship opportunities. This is important because these scholarships are free money for students.

I applied for many different scholarships, and I was able to receive a local scholarship for 1000 dollars. This money helped me get started in college and I was able to use it for myself since my first year of college was already paid..

You also should apply for FAFSA. The FAFSA is a free application that offers grants and the opportunity to receive student loans. Grants are financial aid given by the government that you won’t have to pay back. If FAFSA doesn’t cover the entire amount, then a student might have to consider getting a student loan. The FAFSA student loans are generally the best to receive because they offer the lowest interest rates and better repayment terms. I advise you to stay away from all student loans, but I’d choose these loans if I needed to take a loan out.

My suggestion is to enjoy college. The college process may be scary and stressful, but this is an opportunity you won’t experience again.

You can go to college later in life, but that is different than thinking about college right after high school. This is quite possibly the most important thing in your life. Choosing to go to college and get a degree will change your life.

The degree is something you will use for your career for the next 40 to 50 years of your life. College also lets you find out more about yourself and how you want to live your life. Enjoy this experience because it’s an opportunity of a lifetime.