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As May 1 rolled around, high school seniors all over the country were frantically choosing where they would spend the next four years of their lives at college.
Life-changing decisions were being made left and right, the stakes extremely high.
However, for Ojai Valley School senior Felix Yen, that fateful Monday was like all the others. Felix had been admitted to Babson College, his top choice school, in mid-December by early decision. For a long time, Felix knew that Babson was the right fit for him.
“I only applied to one school,” he said. “Babson was my top choice and that’s why I applied so early. I am so excited to go next year.”
At morning meeting on College Decision Day, Felix and his classmates wore their college swag. T-shirts and sweatshirts were decorated with lions, beavers, ducks, and a whole array of mascots.
College Counselor Judy Oberlander smiled in reflecting upon the last class of seniors she’ll guide before she retires.
“I’m always really proud of seniors,” Ms. Oberlander said. “The list of the places they all got in is very long and every choice was made very carefully.”
This year, the seniors looked far and wide to find the perfect fit.
Gavin Floyd got into the University of Alabama by early decision. Mo Taylor fell in love with the University of Hawaii after visiting earlier this year.
Senior Josh Han is going to college all the way in Canada – he chose to go to the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts to participate in a yearlong professional school program for photography. The school is directly linked to job opportunities, so Josh can jump right into work after he graduates.
This decision didn’t come lightly. At first, he had trouble determining which school to attend. His other choice was Langara College, also in Vancouver. These two colleges both harbor some of the best professional photography programs in Canada, so the decision was tough.
After a lot of back and forth, Josh decided to go to Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, as the program was only one year as opposed to four.
“This school has the best photography program I can find and I love the city,” Josh said. “I’m super pumped to go.”
Another senior who struggled to find the perfect fit was Natasha Freudmann.
Originally from Oregon, she had already experienced as an OVS student what life was like outside her state and wanted to continue that into higher education, so she applied all over the country.
However, an interesting offer arose, when she got accepted into the University of Oregon’s Clark Honors College. It is one of the top ten honors colleges in the country, and Natasha was confronted with a hard choice: college out of state or an amazing college experience closer to home.
“I realized that the Honors College was a super good program and the more I learned about it the more I really liked it,” Natasha said. “When I visited, I loved the dorms and the campus, just everything about the college.”
With less than two weeks to go until graduation, Natasha is feeling excited about what lies ahead, but also a bit apprehensive.
“I’m scared because I’m being released out into the world – I’m getting this newfound freedom and this newfound responsibility,” Natasha said. “But I’m excited to start this new life and be in charge of myself.”
FOOTNOTE: As with senior classes in previous years, students in the Class of 2017 at Ojai Valley School will attend a diverse collection of colleges and universities across the country, including Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., Tulane University in New Orleans, LA., and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The decision deadline brings to a head the months-long, angst-ridden process of filling out applications, writing essays and culling college lists. The seniors still have plenty to do between now and graduation, but May 1 marks a milestone they won’t soon forget.
Class of 2017 College Choice
Babson College
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
California State University Long Beach
California State University Monterey Bay
California State University Northridge
Loyola Marymount University
Mount Holyoke College
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Tulane University
University of Alabama
University of California Irvine (2)
University of California Riverside (3)
University of Detroit Mercy
University of Hawaii at Manoa
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Oregon — Clark Honors College
Vancouver Institute of Media Arts
