Whew! That is the sound high school seniors make after getting accepted into college. Thousands of seniors across the country are starting to receive their college acceptance letters. While some may be waiting in anticipation, others are feeling relaxed knowing their next destination. At Lafayette High School, those feelings are very present for the Class of 2018.  The Lafayette Ledger interviewed five seniors at Lafayette to talk about their nerves, excitement and relief about college acceptance.

Since her sophomore year, Hannah Potter has known where she was going to school. As a committed athlete to the University of Kentucky, she is still excited about being accepted. “It feels good to be accepted. I feel accomplished,” comments Hannah Potter. When questioned on why she picked Kentucky, “I wanted to play soccer in college, I also liked the fact it was big, and had lots of sporting events.”

The athletics of a school is what Chris Collins considered when applying for his schools. “I picked small colleges, in case I wanted to run,” Chris told us.  Reflecting upon how it felt for him to be accepted he continued, “It’s an exciting feeling knowing all of your hard work paid off.” Even though Chris has not made a decision on where he is going, he has certain expectations of college. “I believe people are going to be more mature. I also believe the classes will be harder and there will be more free time.”

While Hannah and Chris looked at the athletic side of college, Ben Dallman had different motivations when applying to schools. “I picked my school because it has everything I wanted to do; continue to work at Busch Gardens, be in a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, and it was simply a cool school.” This “cool school” is Virginia Commonwealth University. Ben says he is also excited to be “treated like an adult.”

Jennifer Matsui expresses similar thoughts about college. “I’m excited to be more independent, relying on myself,” she told us.  Jennifer has decided to attend Sam Houston State University.  Becoming a Bearkat was an easy decision for her. “I picked the school because I used to live in the area and it has the top degree program in my major: criminology.”

Academics are important and were a main factor for Atlee Paterno when applying for schools. “[William and Mary] has a good biology program and have high academic acclaim.” The future Tribe student was quite surprised at her acceptance. “It was shocking because I did not think I would get in. It was a pleasant surprise.”  She is also looking forward to being active on campus. Atlee hopes to be a part of Art Club, honor societies, and maybe Greek life.

All five seniors have experienced relief or excitement on their upcoming journey. Their excitement was felt during the interviews and the pride they had in themselves. This class of seniors are ready for the workload, but are looking forward to campus life. In the end, they have the common goal of getting good grades. These Lafayette High seniors are more than ready for June 16.