It’s what you have been preparing for since you stepped foot into the high school: What college are you going to? Everyone has hopes about going to their dream school, and for some students that dream has become a reality.

Lily Wright, senior at NKHS, applied early decision to Brown University. “Even before I started the college search, Brown was always on my radar since I visit Providence so often. I know the campus really well. When I started to look at schools, Brown was a natural choice,” said Wright.

It’s hard to decide whether or not to apply early decision to a school. “I applied early decision because Brown was my first choice. I knew that if I got in, I would have to attend, and I like Brown enough that the thought of being forced to go there was actually a good thing,” Wright explained Brown is an Ivy League University right here in Rhode Island. Only about 8.5 percent of the over 30,000 applicants each year are accepted.

Sarah Beatty, also a senior at NKHS, had a different experience when thinking about where to apply. “Actually, for the longest time I did not want to go to Northeastern because my brother went there, and I didn’t want to live in his shadow,” said Beatty “ I realized about a year ago, however, that my brother and I are really alike, so if he had a great experience there, I probably would too.”

Beatty made the choice to not apply early decision to Northeastern. “Although Northeastern is one of my top choices, I did not want to commit myself to one school because I am incredibly indecisive, so I didn’t apply early decision.  I really want to hear back from Johns Hopkins and UConn first before I make any final decisions.”

Leigh Ann Rodgers has had her dream school in the back of her mind ever since sophomore year when the college search began. “(Savannah College of Art and Design) is ranked one of the top art schools in the country. I have my heart set on getting out of New England, so Georgia is just far enough away,” said Rodgers.

Although Rodgers is ecstatic that she is accepted to SCAD, she did not want to limit her options by applying early decision “I’m also looking at Ringling College of Art & Design , Syracuse University, University of Miami, RISD, and Columbia College Chicago.”

After applying to colleges, it is just a waiting game of checking the mail or your email or  in some cases waiting for the phone to ring everyday. Sarah Beatty described opening the letter as relieving. “I was super relieved because it was the first school I heard back from and there is always that small worry that you might not make it into any college. Also I was trying to figure out where my mom was so I could show it to her, she was way more stressed out the whole college thing than I was,” said Beatty.

When Leigh Ann Rodgers received a phone call that she was accepted and even being looked at for higher scholarships, she played it cool. “I played it cool while on the phone but after I was shaking from excitement, seeing that I had recently returned from spending some time at the campus and in the dorms with a friend who goes there.”

Lily Wright knew that an acceptance or denial was coming at exactly 5 p.m. on a mid December day on the Brown website. “As soon as I clicked on the button, the first word I saw was “Congratulations!” Just seeing that word released a lot of tension that I’d been feeling for weeks as I waited to hear the decision,” said Wright, “I knew that if I didn’t get in, I would have a bad association with the school and with Providence, and I really didn’t want that to happen. I also didn’t want to spend my winter completing applications for schools that weren’t even at the top of my list.”

The next step is school itself. Sarah Beatty plans to study Biomedical Engineering, but also study pre-med just in case she wants to be a doctor later on.

Lily Wright is still undecided, “I have several interests, mainly English, creative writing, pure mathematics, and visual art, but I haven’t decided which of these interests should become my concentration.” Said Wright.

Leigh Ann Rodgers knows exactly what she wants to study “I plan on getting my BFA in Photography with a minor in Business Management”  Said Rodgers.