The whole college process is probably the most stressful part of my senior year. Mainly, it is hard to apply to different schools you like, not even knowing if you will get into them. After submitting your applications the next step is just waiting for schools to get back to you, which honestly is even more stressful than applying. Then you have to commit to a college. This was definitely the hardest part for me but that’s where the stress ends right? 

I thought that once I committed to a school everything after would be easy. I was very wrong. There is still so much to stress about. For one, finding roommates, before you find your roommates you have to pick a room and dining hall you want to stay at. I mean, how am I supposed to know which hall is the best? Would I rather do a room with one other girl, two other girls, or even three other girls? Where do I find these girls to room with? The roommate process has definitely been one of the hardest parts of officially committing to a school. 

It doesn’t end there, we then have to pick out class schedules. I barely even know what I want to study, how will I know what classes to take? And of course, on top of all of this, I have to keep my grades up so that my final transcript will look good. These are very stressful but important things. 

Even though the process has been stressful, it has also been very fun. When I finally committed to my school, the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, that was all I could talk about for the whole week that I committed. Right when I committed, I said “I want UIUC merch.” Now my whole closet is pretty much all school merch, and I think I have enough clothes to last me all four years of high school. Then, when my friends started committing it was even better because we were all deciding the next chapter of our lives. It is just very exciting. So, while the whole college process is very stressful, applying and committing to one college, in the end it becomes worth it. It is exhilarating and new, while you may be nervous, it is important to go out of your comfort zone and try new things. Whether you are going away from home, or staying at home, college will be a new and a different experience than your high school years.