Where Are You Going To College Next Year

A college counselor and student having a meeting in Plimpton Hall.

williston.com

A college counselor and student having a meeting in Plimpton Hall.

This is probably the question that seniors here at Williston and all over the United States hear the most as May 1, the deadline for enrolling into college, fast approaches. This is asked by almost anyone: family members, peers, teachers and maybe even the lady who sits beside you on the airplane. Some respondents may be fine giving a simple response to this question, but for others it is not always that straightforward.

Rylee Leonard ’16, a PG who came to Williston to play lacrosse, had a different experience than the majority; she had two senior years. This means that she went through two rounds of being asked the question.

She shares, “A year ago, that question was overwhelming and nerve-wracking because I had to explain I was doing a PG year. As soon as I was committed to UNH, the question became a simple, easy answer.”

Julie Lord ’16 expressed that she does not like this question. She says, “In the end anywhere you go, you get a good education that enables you to have a job. Coming from Germany, where college rankings do not matter, I don’t understand why it is such a big deal where you go.”

She adds, “I also don’t like the question because I hear in classes all the time that the juniors look in Naviance who got in where and then comment on it or how people say with an attitude: ‘OMG, that is such a bad school.’ I personally do not think there is a bad school; it depends on what you do out of your experience at the school.”

People to tend to look at a school’s acceptance rate and other statistics in order to make their judgment about whether they think it is a ‘good’ school or not.

Lizzie Warncke ’16 shares, “It doesn’t bother me when people ask me where I’m going to college; what bothers me is when people ask me why I didn’t go somewhere ‘better’.”

Jasmin Movassaghi ’16 says, “I don’t like the question ‘where are you going to college?’ because it automatically assumes that everyone can or wants to go to college. It stresses people out more than they need to be at a time when they need to be focused on what they are going to be doing next in life which is already stressful enough.”

Morgan Fisher’16, who has been committed to University of Connecticut since her junior year says, “I’m fine when people ask me that because I’ve known where I am going to college for quite some time now.”

While some may be comfortable answering this question and talking about their college decision, it is important to exercise empathy when it comes to this topic. In an email to the senior class, Mr. Cheney, Head of College Counseling, noted, “Be happy, but show some self-control and respect your peers who may be dealing with news of their own that’s not as good.”