By Gigi Duncan
To many high schoolers, the ideas of applying to a college and being ready to take that next big step are tremendously terrifying. As applying for different universities has become more competitive in recent years, students have prepared more rigorously for what lies ahead.
Students from all over must adjust to the college life of the United States after completing their high school careers. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 2.2 million (70%) of high school graduates attend college by the following October.
Although attending college for the first time can be considered excitable for all, students who have attended both public and private high schools tend to struggle in applying to college.
Many colleges review a person’s extracurricular activities and experiences with community service.Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey looks at one’s personal essay, awards, volunteering, clubs, sports, past employments, and participation in college-prep courses.
NSLC staff member Amanda Soto attended a specialized boarding school in Puerto Rico where she received STEM credits and graduated a year early.
“Our process is completely different than what [the] American one is like,” Soto said. “We just filled out some papers and that was it.”
While private schools tend to focus on the individual’s needs in applying for college, public schools typically have a larger number of students whose needs in preparing for college can be overlooked by educators and counselors.
Recent college graduate Celeste Esposito had a difficult time becoming accustomed to college life following four years at a public high school.
“My public high school did not prepare me for college at all,” Esposito said. “There were a lot of different people and things to learn in college than at high school.”
Whether the jump from one type of school is more beneficiary in going to college than the other, some can agree that going to college signifies a new chapter in one’s life.
As David Lloyd George stated: “Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.”