Every high school student knows that eventually they will have to go through the college application process. Every student begins to stress about what they want to be in life, what university they want to apply to, and if they will even get accepted, and some even worry financially.

Choosing a college and a major can be difficult because of the pressure to choose the right one. These RHS Alumni had to go through the same process and stress that many high schoolers currently experience.

Sami Hyer is a sophomore at Cal State Fullerton and is majoring in business with a concentration in marketing. When she was going through her college application process, she met with her counselors to discuss where she wanted to go and what she could afford. She took AP classes to help get college credits, had many extracurriculars and community service hours, and when she wrote essays for college applications, she made sure she had a teacher proofread it. She also made sure she had teacher/coach references.

Sami felt as if the steps she took towards applying and preparing for college were right, but she does believe there are things she could have done differently.

“I would have applied to more colleges in-state because out-of-state is too expensive and unrealistic,” Sami Hyer said. “I would have researched more places and taken the time to visit them.”

Morgan Brown is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley and is majoring in political science. Morgan took AP classes, joined clubs to explore her interests, and learned how to balance her academics with her social life. She also did a lot of research on many different schools and majors, and even went on college tours. One thing Morgan recommended is that you should, “Visit whatever colleges you can, even if you don’t think you want to go there just to experience what some are like.”

“I love college but it’s definitely hard! It’s harder to make friends because you’re not with the same people all day long and at least for me, it’s taken some time to figure out my place here,” Brown stated. “It can also be easy to get so overwhelmed by all the different opportunities and classes. It’s not like my high school experience at all, but I’m loving it.”