It came down to the flip of a coin.
Torn between Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts and Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, senior Niklas Weckerle flipped a quarter in late April and left the rest up to fate.
The coin landed on heads, leading him to commit to WPI, a private research university west of Boston that focuses on the technical arts and applied sciences.
“I thought flipping a coin was the fairest way of decided,” Niklas said. “I left it to fate.”
This year’s seniors sent out more than 400 applications and received nearly 160 acceptances, according to OVS College Counselor Fred Alvarez.
They earned entrance to top-notch small private liberal arts schools such as Vassar, Skidmore and Reed, and big public universities such as LSU, UC Berkeley and the University of Washington. Several were accepted to universities outside of the United States including the American University of Paris and the University of Roehampton in London. Members of the Class of 2019 earned 33 acceptances to University of California campuses.
With College Decision Day having passed on May 1, the seniors have now made up their minds and next year will scatter across the globe.
Senior Leo Liang is headed off to study computer science at the University of Michigan. Caroline Morrow will study marketing communication at Emerson College in Boston, while Sophia Cluff-Thompson will explore a Biomed major at Northern Arizona University.
“Every senior got into at least one four-year university, although several will choose other routes,” Mr. Alvarez said. “They’ve worked hard over the past four years to have an array of good college choices and it was great to see their hard work pay off as they made their college choices.”
For some, that choice did not come easily.
Senior Maya Mullins put in months of contemplation to choose the right college for her. While she initially had the common senior worry that she wouldn’t get in anywhere, she ended up getting into almost every school to which she applied including American University of Paris, James Madison University and Richmond University in London.
Maya had been set on going to school in Europe for all four of her high school years to study International Relations, and in the end she was stuck between between Paris and London.
With her applications completed and acceptances rolling in early in the second semester, she had 2 1/2 months of internal debate. She made her final decision — to join the Deers and become a student at Richmond University in London — just days before the May 1 deadline.
“I really want to study International Relations and I thought it’d be cool to study that [in a foreign place] and honestly I’ve always wanted to go to Europe and study there,” Maya explained.
For senior Max Wu, the process wasn’t much easier. He had been thinking about where he would apply since his freshman year, and he applied to approximately 25 schools in his senior year, with his first choices being UCLA and UC Berkeley.
As the applications rolled out, Max began to worry whether any colleges would want him.
“I always over-analyze things,” he said. “But the good thing is the more I think about it the more it pushed me to perfect the application as a whole.”
On March 2, Max was in the car with his girlfriend when he got an email from UCLA revealing his acceptance into the Bruin’s Class of 2023. Six days later he got an acceptance letter from UC Berkeley.
He spent every day up to the deadline contemplating the pros and cons of each school and, on May 1, committed to UCLA where he plans to study Business Economics and join the Chinese Students Association.
Max said if he had to make this decision five years ago, he likely would have chosen Berkeley. But he thinks the world has changed dramatically and that academics is now just one of the factors that is important when choosing a college.
“I think today’s society value opportunities and resources,” Max said. “With this mentality, I chose UCLA, because I feel like I will be able to build a stronger social networking circle there.”
From flipping a coin to flying across seas, this year’s senior class is making waves in their college decisions. Each senior chose a unique path and OVS is excited to see where their decisions will take them.
“I am proud of what the Class of 2019 has accomplished,” Mr. Alvarez said, “but I’m even more eager and excited to see what they will accomplish in the future.”