When starting senior year, seniors are normally excited about prom, graduation, and of course, starting college in the fall. College applications are a challenging and stressful aspect of senior year. Applying to college is just the first step in a long process; being able to afford college is another problem entirely.

Seniors often apply to several schools in hopes of being accepted to one, and possible and receiving a scholarship.  Among schools of their choice, students often have their “dream school”; a school they have a small chance of getting into, a “target school”; a good chance, and a “safety school”, a school that is the easiest to get into and most affordable.  With that, many seniors seem to limit their options with applying to mostly safety schools.

Parental involvement has become a large factor when choosing a university.  Most students find that parental participation is the reason students cannot apply to where they really want to go, because parents are thinking more about tuition, fees, and overall costs, than ‘dream schools’.   

“I want to go to The Ohio State University, but my parents said at this point it really doesn’t matter because I have to go to the school that will give me the most money,” said senior Lulu Adeoye.

“I’m really disappointed that my parents keep telling me that basically I won’t get to go to the college I want to go to…I’ll only be able to the college I can afford, so there’s no point in getting my hopes up, even if I get accepted,” senior Sharde’ Theodore commented.

Whether or not parental involvement is a factor in choosing a university, some seniors believe that universities are not making the choice easier for incoming freshman.

Senior Rohan Jain thinks that institutions have become “money-driven” even with the suffering economy.  “It sucks that I have to stay instate because colleges do not provide for the students, but rather for their own selfish desires.”

“I just can’t understand how some schools expect students to pull $50,000 out of their pockets.  No wonder more seniors are targeting safety schools, trying to find more scholarship money, and filling out FAFSAs,” senior Sally Joseph added.

Many seniors looking for more scholarship money and filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which is based on how much money parents make. Still, some seniors believe even the FAFSA cannot contribute enough to college fees.

Senior Hamane Edwards loathes the idea of staying instate, instead of going to his desired school, the University of Pittsburgh, because of the small contribution of FAFSA.  “Even if I get in, I’m not sure that I’ll go because out-of-state tuition might be too much and financial aid and FAFSA might not cover enough of the expenses.”

“It’s unfortunate that some students may have to stay instate because tuition fees may be too high or may not be covered by financial aid or FAFSA.  I think once a student is accepted into an institution, money should not be a hindrance,” senior Kwame Kellyman said.

The senior class can also agree that the stress of paying for college has altered their opinion of where to apply.  

“I applied to mostly instate schools for the tuition, not because I wanted to go,” Adeoye added. Edwards stated, “I didn’t want to apply to so many Maryland schools, but the costs of other schools basically forced me to reconsider applying out of state at all.”

Guidance counselor Mr. Heintzelman thinks that many students are limiting where to apply to college, because of the economy.  “It’s outrageous.  I think that the economy is very bad and that’s causing people to reconsider community college.  You can go for about $4,000 opposed to $20,000…and for that reason I think we’ll see a big increase on community college applications in coming years.  But it’s sad that some schools are going to lose kids because they just cost too much.”

Guidance counselor Mr. Smith agress that even with scholarships, universities are still difficult to pay for.  “It’s unfortunate that even if you get a scholarship covering 50% of tuition and fees and you’re at a $50,000 school, there is still $25,000 to find.”

No matter the cost of a university, seniors hope that choosing a cheaper school does not mean having to sacrifice going to a school that they will not enjoy.

“It’s discouraging to think that I can’t afford to go somewhere that will allow me to work at my highest potential,” senior Rachel Bailey commented.

However Bailey is optimistic with whatever happens.  “I’m grateful though for any opportunity that is given to me.”