Anxious April: OCHS Seniors Wait to Hear From Colleges

With March Madness come and gone, Anxious April has arrived—that month when high school seniors will hear from colleges and universities whether they've been accepted.

The next step can be even more stressful: waiting to hear if they'll get financial aid.

“April 1, most competitive schools are notifying students whether they are accepted or not,” said guidance counselor Erik Ortolf, who has been advising students about college entrance for 31 years at Ocean City High School. “Then the financial aid packets start coming in. During the month of April, after they hear, they will go visit if they haven't already. Every college basically has a May 1 deadline for deposits.”

Ocean City High School has seen an increase in students choosing two-year schools, Ortolf said—34.4 percent in 2010, up from 23.6 percent in 2006—apparently as more families have hit financial straits.

Ortolf says he counsels parents every chance he gets to start saving for college early. Many don't, because they figure they'll never save enough to pay the whole bill. Don't look at it that way, Ortolf says—instead put aside as much as you can, as every bit that a student doesn't have to borrow helps in the long run.

While many seniors still were waiting to hear from colleges, others already have decided where they are headed after graduation—and their reasons for making their choices are as diverse as they are.

A co-op program that allows students to work every other semester in fields they are considering helped Andrew Troum make up his mind to go to Northeastern University. Plus: location, location, location.

“Boston is the best city in America,” said Troum, 18, of Seaville, who is considering a law career. “It's so clean, everybody is so nice and there's so much to do.”

A bad orthodontia experience had Megan Stewart, 17, of Ocean City, looking closer to home for the least expensive undergrad option.

“I had braces on for a long time and they were messed up, so I decided I wanted to be an orthodontist,” Stewart said. “I looked at all the colleges in New Jersey. I got into Rutgers (University), but I picked Rowan (University in Glassboro) because it was cheapest and I want to go to dental school afterward.”

Josh Clark, 17, of Seaville, was still deciding between Rutgers (Camden) and Rowan and admitted family influence likely will win out.

“Rutgers gave me $2,000 and that's enticing, but everybody in my family wants me to go to Rowan because it's a little nicer and closer to home,” said Clark, who wants to get his MBA after undergrad.

Spring also is a good time for juniors just starting the search process to make campus visits.

Eleventh-grader Matt Caulfield treats his search like he's training for a marathon. He and dad, Edward, already have visited more than a half-dozen schools, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his first choice.

Caulfield also has made computer spread sheets documenting college features and is planning a spring break jaunt to visit a handful of Pennsylvania schools. Then there's the SAT prep class he is taking in advance of taking the test for the second time in June.

But the marathon doesn't really take off until September, when Caulfield will start submitting applications. He wants to major in chemical engineering and get an MBA for a career in product development.

“I'm second in my class, so I have a lot of opportunities,” the 16-year-old Beesleys Point resident said. “You have to weigh whether you want to go to a good college with a scholarship, or go to an awesome college with maybe no financial aid.”