by Tatyana Reed

According to a poll conducted by The Student Voice in April, 76 percent of seniors said they have applied to college, five percent are not going, and 21 percent have not applied yet.

“[Applying to colleges] is a lot of work; we have to write all these essays, and it’s time consuming,” senior Melanie Lopez said.

However, seniors who have not applied yet advised juniors not to wait until the last minute to begin applying.

“Don’t wait until the last minute, like me,” advised one senior, while another advised juniors to “get everything done early so you won’t have to stress.”

According to senior Stephanie Gomez, “the most stressful parts of applying to colleges is the due dates and how many essays you have to write at the same time.”

Sixty-four percent of seniors said they have applied to get financial aid for college, according to the poll. Financial aid is “any grant or scholarship, loan, or paid employment offered to help a student meet his/her college expenses,” according to the New York State Financial Aid Administrators Association nysfaaa.com.

“Applying for financial aid is important because that’s free money from the government that can help your parents out with paying for tuition,” senior Jarrel Joyner said.

According to guidance counselor Eilleen Cuellar, the guidance counselors stress the importance of applying for financial aid to juniors in advance of senior year.

“It’s important because everyone needs money, and if they can get money to go to school, then why not,” Cuellar said.

Senior Demond Wilson said he looked at what colleges have to offer for him when making his decision.

“What attracts me about colleges is if they have my major; my college has engineering, so that attracted me to go to [Lincoln Institute of Technology],”  Wilson said.

Senior Jennifer Llambelis also said she considered what programs schools offered, but she also looks at the cost of each college.

“I would look for the price differences to see what is in my budget,” said senior Llambelis.

After getting financial aid, though, it becomes easier to choose a college, according to Llambelis.

“It makes it easier because it expands your budget. After I got financial aid, I decided to go to Saint Peters University,” Llambelis said.

Senior Stanley Maina said he would advise juniors not to choose the same college their friends choose.

“Everyone has different college experiences,” Maina said. “The college your friend wants to attend may not have what you want.”

Lopez will be attending Hudson County Community College, and she needs to get ready, she said.

“I feel like I am getting ready to enter the real world now,” Lopez said. “I’m going to try to do the best I can do with my grades when I get to college.”