By Mandy Caron

Monmouth Academy

As the end of the year is drawing nearer, more and more seniors are receiving letters of acceptance from colleges they have applied to. So you’re accepted, now what?

First of all, finish off the rest of your school year. Don’t “give up” just because you’ve been accepted. Colleges can just as easily look at how your grades went downhill and decide to revoke their offer. Besides, it just bodes well for your image if you appear to be immune to “senioritis.”

Secondly, make sure all your financial aid information is completed and in as soon as you can get it done. This means your FAFSA and scholarship applications. Make sure to try to stay up-to-date on deadlines; you don’t want to miss an opportunity for tuition money by missing a deadline!

Before the last minute rush, you may also want to try to buy items that you will need for cortege early on. Good items to purchase are storage totes, bedding, small appliances (make sure to check first, just to make sure you are allowed to have them), phone cards, toiletries, etc. As the back-to-school season arrives, these may end up harder to come by, and you do not want to pay ridiculous amounts for stuff you could have bought beforehand.

It also may be a good idea to start saving some of your money ahead of time, too, if you don’t already. This can be used as an emergency stash, because you may not always have your parents right there to dole out the cash. The best way to start a little fund is to just put a small portion in a savings account, or a piggy bank, each time you get paid. In the future, this could come in handy.

If you go to visit the college again, before you actually attend (which is highly recommended), you may want to look around the surroundings of the college as well. Job prospects, a financial institution, and the location/distance of places you know you are probably going to make trips too. This also includes gas stations, if you are going to have your car. Why, you ask? You may want to get a feel for your surroundings, other than just what’s on campus. This also helps in financial planning, since the cost of gas is forever on the rise, and commuting to places may or may not cost more.

Those are just a few helpful pointers I’ve picked up along the way, and I figured I would try to help out fellow students who may be stressing over the very same thing. Just take it one step at a time, and by the time graduation nudges its way into our lives, you’ll have no worries… about that, at least.