In mid-October, well before the college application deadline, OVS senior Charlotte Ferrier finished her application to Santa Clara University, writing in painstaking detail about her numerous high school activities and her love of deep sea diving.
Then she changed her mind.
She had originally applied Regular Decision to Santa Clara, but she immediately regretted her choice and decided to apply Early Decision, which would be binding if she earned acceptance.
She had to have her father and the OVS college counselor approve. And then she had to wait several long, agonizing weeks to hear from Santa Clara’s admission office even as she collected multiple admission offers from other colleges. 
“It was comforting to know that other schools were accepting me, but it actually made the anticipation worse,” recalled Charlotte, who as she waited to hear from Santa Clara earned admission to eight other colleges and universities. “Thankfully, yeah, I finally got in,”
Even in the midst of a pandemic and the uncertainty that it brought, there has been plenty of good news for the Class of 2022.
The 16 seniors who applied to four-year colleges and universities reached their goal. As a class, they earned a total of 93 acceptances, which is about six per student.
They are going off to schools including UCLA, Smith College, the University of Wisconsin, Boston University, Syracuse University, and the Berklee College of Music.
“I think I can speak for all seniors when I say we are very happy,” said senior CatieJo Larkin who is committed to Smith College in Northampton, MA.
Smith College wasn’t originally on the top of CatieJo’s list. But as she learned more about colleges and knew more about what she wanted to have in a college, Smith stood out to her and became a top choice. She is excited to go study on the East Coast. 
While having some regrets about not making the perfect school list, Alden Koskoff is now awaiting to explore diverse areas of study at the University of Wisconsin. What led Alden to choose it is Wisconsin’s highly ranked academic curriculum, especially in areas where he wants to pursue, such as journalism, business, history, and film.
“It was basically a no-brainer,” said Alden.
Danny Lee, who also worked day and night to write his applications, is now looking forward to attending Boston University—one of his top choices. He is ready to spend the next four years in the gothic buildings of BU, meet new people, and face challenging academic courses.
“I feel great and I am looking forward to graduation right now, counting days off,” Danny said.
College Counselor Fred Alvarez said he was proud of the work the seniors put in this year.
Mr. Alvarez said at OVS, college counseling is about helping students find the “right fit” college or university, and this year he is pleased that so many of the seniors seemed to have done so.
For example, he said three seniors are headed to community college, which for them is the perfect next step to begin their college careers. Other students are headed to art schools, music schools and colleges and 
universities where they plan to pursue careers that involve everything from golf management to graphic design.
“Lots of the seniors got into their first-choice colleges, and all of them are headed to colleges and universities where they are certain to thrive,” Mr. Alvarez said. “I look forward to hearing about their adventures and successes as the years unfold.”