Students Share How Early They Plan for College

College is one of the most important things to many students, especially Freedom students who believe it to be a foundational step to a successful career. This begs the question on how early Freedom students begin to think about and prepare for college, if they contemplate this throughout their whole childhood or wait until they finish high school. Then, this also brings into question whether college truly aligns with student goals, or is there an underlying pressure to pursue a college education.

“I never think about it much,” said Freshman Denize Hazarati.

However, other students think differently about college planning.

“It’s reasonable to think about it now but not seriously,” said Sophomore Dahong Kim.

These responses from younger students align with their lower interest to think about college because of how far away it is for them. Younger students don’t need to focus on their future too much, but for older students, adulthood is right around the corner. These looming thoughts about college and the future could greatly affect the psyche of these older students.

Thinking about college can be stressful but others are more reassured.

”I’m pretty confident about my future,” said Junior Luna Barker.

On the other hand, others believe the stress can be overwhelming when balancing other activities.

“It’s stressful preparing for college and keeping up your grades,” said Senior Libby Donahoe.

Many students are worried about certain aspects of college and their future. In general, this stress may poten- tially affect their mental health. Some may even believe that their amount of college preparation may hurt their chances toward a better college.

“Only people who are striving for a lot. Like, if you don’t care what college you go to then all you need to do is keep your grades up but working towards a big school is gonna take a lot of effort and will cause more stress,” said Barker.

Some older students purposely don’t think about college very often to avoid the stress and mental strain it will cause them.

“Some of [my friends] talk about it but not very many,” said Barker.

High school students usually think about college only when necessary. This is because of their many responsibilities and growing stress of preparing for their future.