Sam Borge has been juggling his AP classes, his senior project, being a DECA officer, a member of Leadership Academy, and an athlete while simultaneously applying to colleges and preparing for the next chapter of his life. Sounds stressful, right? Starting to prepare for college early is extremely important ‒ a necessity even‒ so how do these upperclassmen at North Kingstown High School manage to do the impossible?
A good way to begin your college search is to think about what factors matter the most to you and keep track of the colleges that best meet your criteria. These can include location, climate, campus, cost, and curriculum.
Junior Chloe Cameron uses her notes app to track her college search. She is considering going to URI so she can stay close to home, since location is very important to her. She is still unsure of what she wants to major in and will likely decide once she begins her college studies in freshman year. Although Cameron is passionate about art, she doesn’t think it is a realistic choice. Instead, she is considering a major in biology or possibly something in the medical field.
“My biggest struggle is that I don’t know what adult careers look like, so I know of majors but I’m like, ‘how do they turn into jobs?’” Cameron said, a conundrum that most high school and college students, for that matter, likely grapple with.
Mia Bucci is a junior interested in pursuing a career in forensic accounting and wants to stay relatively close to home. Some options that meet her criteria for curriculum and location are Penn State and University of Maryland.
“I haven’t really narrowed any down, I just have a really long list of the top schools for the program I want,” said Bucci.
Senior Borge said that although he doesn’t have a list, college tours helped him narrow down his choices.
“When you’re touring a college you’re kinda feeling, ‘I see myself here’ or you don’t,” Borge said. “There were some college tours I went on and it’s like, it’s a cool college, I just don’t see myself here for four years.”
Borge prioritizes cost and if the college offers programs suited for his career. Touring many colleges along with his criteria helped him find his top two choices, Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania and Stonehill College in Massachusetts, both of which have good programs for international business and Spanish. Since Borge is very passionate about Spanish and plans to minor in it, a study abroad program that extends to Spanish-speaking countries was non-negotiable.
Borge is very grateful to have supportive parents and an older brother who has already gone through the process, which made his experience much simpler.
If you still feel stuck in your college search, there are numerous resources for you to take advantage of to get ahead of the game.
Cameron has personally taken advantage of the resources available at NKHS.
“Thanks to Mr. [Damon] Lindsay’s college quicktakes, I’ve taken two colleges into consideration recently and a lot of efforts from the guidance committee to encourage me,” Cameron said.
Not only should you try to narrow down your choices, but building up your resume and gaining new experiences is crucial to understanding what kind of future you want.
For any underclassmen who are wondering what they should be doing right now to prepare in advance, Bucci suggests, “Work hard in school, keep your grades up, try to get into after school activities, meet new people, and start thinking about what you want to do now so it’s not as difficult later.”
Cameron says getting involved with summer pre-college programs will give you a preview of what dorm life might look like and to think about what you want to get out of college.
“Figure out what kind of life you’re looking for in this college experience… I want to be able to troll a little at a party, have some activity, go shopping, probably at some liberal arts school… But some people might be super crazy about a party school, or a sorority, or a warm climate,” Cameron said. “So try to figure out how you visualize your life. Do you want to experience something new and get away from this state or are you comfortable with where you are?”
Borge suggests for underclassmen to join clubs and electives that they’re interested in to help find what they are passionate about, which helped him discover his passion for connecting with other people through Spanish classes and DECA.
“I have a passion for learning languages and interacting with people, so that’s why I thought I’d do well at international business,” said Borge. “Most importantly, don’t forget to stay studying and be yourself!”
