The next big step for most students after high school is college, a major step to the next level. A great amount of students get their acceptance letters to the collages they want to attend before the school years out. Others scramble to get the necessary steps done to get into college by the fall. The real question is what colleges are students going to when they leave high school this school year?

Colleges are nationwide, each having their own difficulty to get into. Genesis Luciano has gotten accepted into Florida A& M University (FAMU) also Florida Gulf Coast University after applying to four colleges, deciding to go to FAMU and enter the pharmacy program. Genesis says “The whole process was tough, from taking the SAT, getting the financial aid process complete, and finding an apartment close to the college. Finally everything has been complete for her and she will be attending FAMU this upcoming fall school year.

Even some senior got full scholarships to college for athletics. Kelvin Smarwt and Jon Moore both have full ride scholarships to their colleges for athletics. Kelvin Smarwt decided to sign with Valparaiso University. Usually freshman don’t get playing time which if he attends this school he can get the playing time that he wants. He leaves august seventh to start his season. Jon Moore has signed with Morehead State University. He had the decision between Butler Bulldogs and Morehead. Attending Morehead State would give Jon a better chance at starting his freshman year and getting a degree having a successful football career, both are getting ready to begin the process to fulfill their long life dream to get to the NFL.

Going away for school is not the answer for every senior. Hajar Nejjar has made the decision to stay here in Saint Petersburg and attend SPC. Hajar feels that is easier to stay here with her parents and pay less for school. This is a popular decision with this year’s senior so they can have two more years to get ready to leave home. Hajar had the opportunity to go off to USF Tampa campus, with this hard decision that was ahead of her she choose what she feels its best for her.

Jacquail Telfair and Keira Sanford have been best friends since middle school. Now when it comes time to go off to college they have a lot of thinking to do. After searching and applying the decided they want to live in Orlando together. With applying to university they both might not get accepted, so they decided to both go to Valencia Community College. After two years they will both be admitted to UCF. They both are looking forward to this life together. They will get an apartment together close to the school.

Some seniors like Erin Long make a decision at the last minute due to the colleges taking a while to get back with an answer. She applied to UCF and USF. She heard back from USF, but she was truly waiting for the college she wanted to go to, UCF. When she heard back from them they told her she was in a waiting list to attend UCF. When she decided she was going to go to USF and not wait for a definite yes from UCF, she heard back. She got accepted into UCF for the summer session. So Erin Long was fortunate enough to go to her first choice after such a long waiting process.

Many students choose to go to college but some still want other options as in joining a military branch. The military takes a lot of your time so many students don’t get the chance to actually go to college. Jessica Mohr is joining the army this fall but wants something more. She feels as if she should still get an education, since the military will pay for it. She wants to take advantage of the opportunity and is planning on doing online courses. She doesn’t want to over stress herself and take on more than she can handle but wants a backup plan once she completes her term with the army.

For these students and many other students this is the closing of one chapter and opening another. They will face many more obstacles, struggles, and stress just like they accomplished their first twelve years of education they will conquer many more in the long run. Anything is possible and they can achieve anything they set their mind to.