Now most everyone on this campus is freaking out about something. From the Biology test that counts for seven- twelfths of your grade 4th period, to the English project that you have to present (but you only read to page 17), and an important thought running through our panicked brains is “am I going to have to steal a chair from a poor underclassmen in the cafeteria today, because there aren’t enough seats for everyone”.

But the most important woe inflicting Puma seniors’ minds right now is “what am I doing after graduation?”

The impending doom we call “The Future” is closer than we may realize. We seniors only have 6 months left, and for most colleges, applications are due by the end of November.

Now I know that the prospect of filling out these applications, with all of the scary personal questions that makes us feel bad about ourselves (seriously I needed 2 million extra-curricular activities?) is terrifying for most.

But you need to pull on your Big-Kid-Pants, sit down, and spend an hour filling out an application that may or may not secure your future.

You may cry over your less than stellar SAT score or you may clap when you feel good about the clubs you’ve been a part of in high school; but you will never get the opportunity to find out what college is like, unless you spend that terrifying hour filling out that questionnaire.

Most of us are complaining that “we don’t know how to fill it out” or “I’m not sure where I want to apply yet”. Well here’s some advice.

We have over 100 faculty members on this campus who have been to college before.
We have an entire Career Center dedicated to getting you into a secondary institution. And we have 9 fully qualified human beings working in the counseling department, whose job is specifically designed help you.

Many of the applications are designed for a high school student to easily navigate them, and most out-of-state colleges have a Common Application, which you only have to fill out once and can send in to as many colleges as you like.
And if money is an issue, most schools have a scholarship or waiver programs that waives the applications fee. All you need is to talk to Pat Phillips, in the career center.

Thinking about the future is scary and frightening, but with the right help and support, the future can be easily navigated. So get to it, Seniors. Unfortunately, the time has come to think like an adult.