The next several weeks will be a rollercoaster ride with ample amounts of stress, anxiety and a sprinkle of exhilaration for good measure. For seniors, it means constantly checking online accounts and mailboxes for news of acceptances or rejections from colleges. These decisions will change the future for seniors and determine where they will spend their next four years.

Juniors, although at a different stage, will also have plenty of preoccupation. Balancing SATs,  ACTs, extracurriculars, college counseling and boosting GPAs on top of a strenuous course load is no meager task. Finally, the sophomores and freshmen are just beginning their college counseling journey.

Contrary to popular belief, the overall acceptance rates for most colleges have not been decreasing.

“By in large, it’s a sliver of high profile, uber-selective schools that we sometimes jokingly refer to as ‘nosebleed schools’ that have those ridiculously [low acceptance] numbers,” college counselor Lester Johnson said.

The primary reason for the misconception is because the highly selective universities are popular in conversation and are the ones that most dream to attend.

“It’s just that the highly selective [colleges] are the ones that most people talk about, show interest in, and those are the ones that you hear in the media because they are the ‘big name’ schools,” college counselor Daphne Olsen said.

The school’s college counseling office’s main philosophy is to help students conduct college searches to find the best college fit for each individual.

“[The college counseling office] has a curriculum—one that is driven by college, but more about the features for a person to be successful in college and in life. That’s really what it’s about,” college counselor Stephanie Dryden said.

Values such as interpersonal skills are very important regardless of which major or future career path a student may take. The office is more concerned with developing these values and interests, so students can readily apply them to whatever career path they may take.

The college admission office starts administering their comprehensive college counseling program as early as a student’s freshman year. In freshman year, adjusting to high school is the main goal. In addition, students are encouraged to think about how to make the most of high school while discovering passions and interests.

In sophomore year, students should start to think generally about how interests and passions relate to the application process. Sophomores are recommended to take advantage of opportunities outside of schools, such as summer programs.

Junior year is known as the “dress rehearsal” for the college application process. Juniors work on practicing essay writing, completing applications and creating a resume.

“Junior year gives them all these tools so when they are seniors they can hit the ground running,” Olson said.

Juniors are also encouraged to meet with college representatives who visit the school every fall. Heavy research of colleges and interests are also continued. This may come in the form of a hands-on experience such as an internship or  a visit to the campus itself.

“They’re grazing the spectrum of schools. They may have an idea, but then they need to investigate to see if they really like it,” Johnson said.

Senior year is simply college applications. The prep work from the culmination of previous years is used to complete all aspects of the final application. By February, most of the applications have been sent out to colleges. Most acceptance notifications will be given to students by April.

At this point, juniors have already completed a mock resume, common application and college essay. By the end of the semester, juniors will have had both an individual meeting with their counselor and a family meeting.

“We’ve done preliminary stuff to get us ready. The real college process starts now,” junior Brandon Israel said.

Israel says his favorite part of the college process is touring the various colleges.

“I think touring is really fun,” Israel said.“When you go [there] you definitely get a visceral reaction for [the college].”

Israel has seen a wide variety of colleges across the nation including the University of South California, the University of Michigan and the New York University.  For a while Israel had a dream college, but the college process helped open his eyes to more options.

“Once you learn a lot more of other colleges, you tend to get interested in  [them] and realize that this isn’t really [the college] for me,” Israel said.

Israel, like many others, has been busy with many extracurriculars in addition to his already busy schedule.

“Be aware of what’s to come,” Israel said.“Living in the moment is great, but sometimes you have to be aware of what’s ahead.”

Most seniors have already received news from at least one of the colleges that they applied to. William Haftel is one the seniors who is waiting for an acceptance to his dream college. In the case that he is not admitted, Haftel definitely has other universities that he can attend. He applied to a grand total of 16 schools. He will not be notified by his desired school until April 1.

Looking back on the college application process, Haftel does have some regrets.

“I wish I applied to a lesser amount of  schools. It was so much work,” Haftel said.

He also had to sacrifice sleep in order to balance his busy schedule of standardized testing, college counseling, AP classes and out-of-state Forensic competitions over the past years. He has some useful advice for his fellow underclassmen.

“Try to sleep and don’t overcommit yourselves,” Haftel said.