College is a process that has many steps to take. Between applications, touring, and financial reasons, college is a big decision that requires a lot of thought and time.

As the school year starts off with a bang, many seniors are beginning the process of applying to colleges and universities.

“Since sophomore year I have been taking SAT and ACT’s and trying to get involved in as much as I can. My grades are where I want them to be, I just hope that all my hard work really pays off,” senior Rylee Showalter said.

The college process is a time consuming and potentially stressful project for students. On top of keeping grades up and extracurricular activities, college work often gets procrastinated potentially causing more stress than necessary.

“Recently I have been trying to do a little work a night to help the work not build up,” senior Victoria Preast said.

For many colleges, including Virginia Tech, James Madison, Radford, and other in state schools, applications are already being accepted.

“Starting next week, two times a day, we are going to be starting up the colleges coming to the school to give information about their schools and answer any questions students might have,” College and career center assistant Heather Jolly said.

As the rush to get in applications, teacher recommendations, and other requirements continues, many students worry that they are not where they should be and are falling behind.

“Right now seniors should be doing their last tours, narrow down their choices to 3 to five schools, and they should have started their applications by now,” Mrs. Jolly said.

The school gives students a plentiful amount of resources to help students get started with the process.

“At the beginning of the year I had not even started looking at college related stuff, but then I saw all my friends starting and immediately began the process. The colleges that came to Stone Bridge last year really helped me and was a super resourceful tool,” senior Taylor Petrakis said.

Along with students reaching out to colleges, many colleges, including Radford, come to visit high schools to interview students and have on spot admission.

“Radford is the biggest school that participates in on spot admissions and they will be doing it this year I just have to figure out what date they should come,” Mrs. Jolly said.

For years, Stone Bridge has held many college visits in the school, they allow students to get a brief information session and talk with students and teachers from the different universities.

“I went to many of the college visits at Stone Bridge last year and it really helped me get a feel for what I liked and did not like in a college,” Preast said.

The colleges that come to Stone Bridge are offered to juniors and seniors only to help address any concerns students that are in the process of college may have.

“It is a great tool for juniors to learn more about what it really means to apply. For seniors, it is recommended to go because they can connect with the people reading their applications and can fully be confident when applying to schools,” Mrs. Jolly said.

The college process is not something that can be done in one night. It starts off by narrowing schools down, applying, and visiting to make sure the college you end up in is the one for you.