The graduation march is playing in your head as you walk through the halls. Senior year is here and you are finally top dog. As the completion of your last months of high school begin, the thought of college invades, switching your internal radio from a joyous tune to the background music of a horror movie. Adulthood is soon beginning.

As terrifying as growing up may seem, it’s critical, and going off to college is just a part of life. The deadline to send in applications for most schools is by Halloween. The stress of deciding which schools to apply to is getting to students, as well as finding time to do it.

“I don’t know how I am going to make time to fill out applications because of volleyball, SSP, Student Council, and National Honor Society,” senior Sara Baum said.

“Despite this, I plan to apply to Central, Grand Valley, Wayne State, and Lawrence Tech University.”

Some seniors have began applying well in advance. Despite the long hours it take to do so, applying to various schools will give you many other options, just in case you did not receive feedback you were hoping for.

“Applying was pretty time consuming, but it was worth it,” senior Gina Duff said.

“I’ve applied to Grand Valley, Michigan State, and Central, and, my top pick, University of Michigan.”

When applying for college, the sooner you do, the better. It’s good to have an idea of what job you plan to pursue after school and where you’ll go in order to reach that career goal.

“I plan to become a radiologist technologists and then proceed into plastic surgery,” senior Mitchell Fraser said. “I’m currently attending Macomb in early college enrollment. Therefore I don’t plan on applying to a university until I finish my associate’s degree there.”

Applying for college can be significantly stressful. Aside from finishing applications as early as possible, prepare for rejection and keep a positive mind set from the time you submit your application to when you leave for school in August.

“The best thing you can do for yourself is accept rejection,” principal Tom Lietz said. “Rejection is inevitable. Why not experience and accept it now, with all these support systems around you?”