Did You Decide Yet?

May 1st, to many people this will just be another day, but for high school seniors it's the day that they must decide on where they will be continuing their education. Even though I procrastinated on visiting and applying to colleges, I actually chose my college early and have already sent in my deposit. But for all you procrastinators out there, here are 5 tips, according to The Washington Post, to help you get rid of some of that stress that might overwhelm you this week.

1. Those rejections aren’t your problem.
Even though you may not have been accepted to your top pick, there are plenty other colleges that you did get in to; so stop fretting about being rejected and look on the bright side, you got accepted somewhere else.
2. If you don’t like the college you chose, it’s easy to get another one.
About 20 percent of students who start at one four-year college graduate from another four-year college. Many more start at two-year colleges, then move to four-year schools.
3. Your future success has no bearing on whether your grandmother has heard of your college.
Students accepted by selective colleges but who decided to attend non-selective ones were making just as much money 20 years later as those who attended the selective, brand-name schools. Those prestigious colleges were good at recruiting students who had the character traits, such as persistence, humor and charm, that produced success in life. But students with those qualities who went to colleges rarely mentioned in the rankings did just as well.
4. Your college will have many Ivy League-quality students and professors.
Admissions officers at colleges that reject 80 or 90 percent of applicants readily admit that there is no difference between applicants they accept and large numbers of the applicants they reject. Some of those disappointed but brilliant people, like you, will go to your school and give it the intellectual fizz and take-charge energy you find at the Ivies.
5. Whatever your mood now, you will be happy once you ditch your parents.
 For the first time, you get to decide what you do every day. In just four months, you will be making friends and sampling new experiences in what are likely to be the most unsettling, strenuous and exciting years of your life.