Aley Phelan

Guest Writer

Hello Foran! By now you have probably read a decent amount of alumni articles. Theres a lot of advice to give about college so heres mine.

Its only February so there is still time to decide what school is best for you. In my experience I waited until the end of April to send it my deposit, which was cutting it close. The reason I did this was because I was waiting to hear back from my top school, the Fashion Institute of Technology. FIT kept pushing back when they would be sending out their decision letters, first it was the first week in April and then it was by the 20th of April. This was obviously very stressful for me because I had already heard from the rest of my schools but I wanted to hear from them before I made my final decision.

When I finally heard back I was put on the waitlist. I was crushed but in hindsight this was the best thing that happened to me. I knew I didn’t want to spend the rest of the year and summer still waiting to hear if I got off the waitlist so I didn’t go on and submitted my deposit to Drexel University.

Being here at Drexel made me realize that I would have been miserable at FIT. I am sure there are people there that love it and are happy they are there but I now know I would not be one of those people. Being at a university there is opportunity to meet so many different types of people. Some of my best friends are engineers here, and I know I would not meet those people at a fashion school.

Just because one school has the best reputation for the major you want to go into doesn’t mean there aren’t other school that have great programs as well. Do research (like I’m sure you have) on all of your choices, look online for how students like the school and join the Facebook groups, they may get annoying and you don’t even have to post anything (I never did) but it is a good way to get a feel of what life would be like at that school and who you would meet.

All that research online is great but the best way to know if a school is right for you is to visit. There are probably accepted students days coming up, which in my opinion are the best way to get to know a school. Going to accepted students days is so helpful, at most schools it’s more in depth than a regular tour and you get to meet with people in your major and see the dining hall and so much more.

To wrap up my advice for all the seniors at Foran keep these two things in mind for the next few months. One, your top choice might not be the best choice for you and that is okay. Two when going on school visits make sure you sit in the cafeteria, even if you don’t eat anything just sit and look around at the people, ask yourself “Do they seem nice? Are there a lot of people sitting alone? Do people seem happy?” this will give you a feel of how the people are at the school.

Good luck with the rest of senior year! I know the stress doesn’t stop but enjoy your last days at Foran and with your life-long friends!