Students Prepare to Make Big Decisions after High School

As the school year draws to a close, seniors begin making important decisions regarding their lives after high school. Choosing colleges, whether or not to attend college, and other major financial and education-related choices are placed upon graduating students.

Part of the stress for many seniors is waiting to get accepted to college. According to a cbsnews.com article, the average college acceptance rate in 2010 was 65.5%, and 48.8% of schools put applicants on a wait list. The article also said that one out of four students submitted applications to at least seven colleges/universities.

Even if a student knows where he or she wants to go to college, there are still many other aspects of preparation he or she has to deal with. For example, many utilize scholarships and grants to help finance education. Statistics from debt.org revealed that ⅔ of college students pay with scholarships and/or grants. The application process for these is often as grueling as for colleges, if not more so. Many students apply for more scholarships than colleges, often since multiple awards are needed to offset the increasing cost of higher education.

Between 2008 and 2010, the average cost of college rose 15%. In 2013, the average cost of a four-year public school was $5,750, and four-year private schools cost an average of $15,680 (according to debt.org). Most of the time, students will be forced to take out government loans; in fact, 60% of graduating seniors take on some amount of student debt.

Regardless of which stage high school seniors are in preparing for life after graduation, they are probably making some important decisions.