A small selection of schools that do the early admissions. Photo collage courtesy of senior Anika Richard.
The third trimester is here, and with it comes questions about where seniors at San Luis Obispo High School will go once this year ends.
Many people have gotten into some amazing schools such as Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, and still more are waiting to hear back from acceptance admins.
Some schools have an early acceptance program which allows students to select their most desired school and commit early. For seniors, this means submitting this application as early as November first. If they were to get accepted, they are automatically going there, regardless of their other college options, so seniors made sure to select the best of the best.
“You have to apply knowing this is the to-die for school you want to go to so bad,” said college and career specialist Colleen Ms. Martin.
For some, this is a very difficult decision, and many students rush to find a good school that will both accept early admissions and suit their majors.
“They are filling up the freshman class with about 35 percent with early admits. The problem is that some schools like Stanford is that when they take you early admit, they don’t roll you over into regular decision,” said Ms. Martin.
This means that you only get one shot at whatever school you have lined up for early admission, and if they reject you, it’s the end of the line for that particular school.
Some students strike gold, such as senior Westley Bartlett and senior Leonardo DeTurris, who have been accepted into Princeton university and University of Pennsylvania, respectively.
“I chose Princeton because I really connected with the campus culture and loved a lot of its academic programs. I also liked its location, where it’s in a small town like SLO so it isn’t too jarring of a jump, but it’s also only an hour from New York City and Philadelphia,” said Bartlett.
Princeton University is known for its outstanding economics and mathematics programs, as well as a beautiful campus.
“I chose UPenn for one because of its location in Philadelphia. I’ve lived and grown up in SLO for my whole life, and while I love SLO, I think it’s valuable in your early years to try out living different lifestyles in different places so that you get a feel for what’s right for you,” said DeTurris.
University of Pennsylvania is known for its rich history, and programs such as business and social sciences.
The schools that students pick will influence their whole life should they get in, so it’s safe to say that it is a very big decision.
As they roll into their last trimester, seniors are anxiously waiting for their acceptance letters, but for a small few, their dream schools have already been selected. Whether they made it to their dream school or not, however, every senior is awaiting the opportunities that the new school year will bring.
