As the winter season kicks off, EHS seniors have a bit more on their minds besides making snowmen and sledding down snowy hills.

Deadlines for college applications and scholarships are just around the corner, and with so many colleges to choose from, and different requirements for each, the stress load for the prospective college students tends to gradually amplify.

Many students are pressured to attend the “top schools,” others are pressured with what schools they will receive the most money from, and still more are pressured with what schools they will be able to participate in their prospective sport.

The first of the list of stressors is choosing the “right college.”

“I’ve only applied to two schools so far, there are just so many choices,” says senior Morgan McGinnis.

Most people up until this point have not really had much of a choice of what school they will attend.  Now they have to pick a college that they will most likely attend for the next four years.

Despite the common belief that choosing the right college either makes or breaks a person, what a person gets out of college is truly up to that individual. True, if a college does not offer a desired major, it may not be an ideal pick. But, if a person researches colleges enough, then they should not have to worry too much.

“Knowing what college I wanted to go to really helped simplify my application process,” said senior and future Abilene Christian University student, Abby Avera.

After a person chooses their colleges that they want to apply to, the stress doesn’t stop there. Each of the colleges has different requirements and even applications.

“I think the most stressful part of applying is the essays,” says McGinnis.

The application process can be long and grueling.  To cut down on the amount of work, students should be sure to save everything they write in a folder so that they do not have to redo any work for different applications.

When a person finally gets accepted to college, their paperwork does not stop there.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the cost of college tuition and fees has increased to over 1120% since 1978. That being so many students find it difficult to pay the “sticker price,” for their education.

“The biggest tip that I’ve learned is to get parents to fill out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and to go and seek scholarships on your own,” says senior Alyssa Stephens.  “Also the ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Course) will pay for a free college application if you don’t mind being a part of the armed forces.”

When it comes to applying, the best way to deal with the process is to not stress about the pressure itself.  Accept that the process is long as well as grueling, but in the end it will eventually pay off as proved by countless EHS students before us.