Seniors, it’s over. You’ve been accepted, rejected, deferred, and waitlisted. Gray hairs, blank stares, and incessant swears, the college process is always a hassle. Now, for incoming seniors, Ms. Grenier, the college counselor has a few words to prepare you.

What is the most difficult part of the college search process?

“The most difficult part of the process is making the time to search for schools. I think in order to find schools that feel like home, you have to have time to visit them, which I think is difficult for most families.”

What do people make the most difficult for themselves?

“The part that people make the most difficult for themselves is the essay. It doesn’t need to be as difficult as it is. There’s a lot of pressure for it to be ‘perfect’”

What’s the most exciting part of the college process?

“For kids, the most exciting process is getting accepted and finding a place to go next year because until that point, students are super stressed out. For me, the evolution of what happens between second semester Junior year and the national deposit day on May 1st.”

The worst part?

“The worst part is the stuff we can’t control. Kids apply to places that they like and sometimes don’t get into those places and that has nothing to do with them as human beings. It has to do with how a business can admit a student without spending the most money. ”

Does taking an honors/AP college make a student’s application stand out more?

“I don’t know if it makes the application stand out more. I think having academic classes is necessary because you’re going to school to learn. For the places that are more academically competitive, then yes. Advanced placement and honors courses are necessary, but I think what makes a student’s application stand out beyond other things are the pieces that make them THEM, whether it’s the essay, the recommendation, or the extracurriculars. ”

What’s some advice for incoming seniors who are about to go through the college process?

“RELAX! Enjoy the ride. Everyone laughs, but first and foremost, relax. Students who are less stressed about this process are the ones who take it piece by piece, rather than make the whole process a big overwhelming activity. Chunk it down to smaller things and complete the tasks one at a time and ask for help when you need it. Around here, what inhibits kids from finding some schools the most is getting caught up with name recognition and U.S. News and World Report rankings and things that are not an accurate measure of what things kids would need to be successful on campus. Some students regret not spending more time looking at schools that were great matches for them and a huge problem regarding that is that they don’t spend enough time self-evaluating, or introspecting, on what’s important to YOU and what you want in the next two or four years and that’s hard because some of us have never thought that way of ourselves. I believe that that should be the center of finding your home after high school.”

What can students do to best succeed in the college process?

“Be authentic. Be yourself. Don’t get caught up in what others are doing. Don’t do what people think they should be doing. In my opinion, if students accomplish that, then they are successful. Everything falls into place.”

Let’s talk about money. This is a major factor when deciding which college we want, but how is money a major factor for college admissions?

“It depends on the type of school. Colleges are a business. They’re trying to bring a group of students who are diverse and have different interests with spending the least amount of money as possible. That’s ultimately the goal of the person at the top. In order to do that, some schools don’t admit kids who come from a poor financial background, but are academically qualified. Some can get in, but they don’t have the money to attend. Students will still find other places that will offset that, which is why we look at a diverse list of schools; schools that give out merit money, full need, etc.”

The class of 2018, prepare yourselves for the college acceptances, rejections, deference, and waitlists. The college process is not a fair game, but making the next four years your own is how you win.