With the first quarter of the year coming and going so fast the graduating class of 2015 are now rapidly approaching the deadlines for college applications, with many of them not sure where they will be this time next year. On the other hand many seniors now know what school will be their home after their time at Elder High School comes to an end.

I myself find myself in the latter camp, knowing that by this time next year I will be in Ypsilanti taking courses at Eastern Michigan University. The moment that I knew that I wanted to attend EMU I felt excitement, but I also felt real sadness with the sudden realization that my time at Elder would soon be over.

To any underclassmen reading this article, value your time here at Elder and appreciate the friends you’ve made here, because before you know it you’ll be a senior and it will all be over. It’s not a bad thing, and it’s definitely something that everyone (hopefully) will do at the end of their four years, but it’s a very melancholic achievement.

You’ve probably heard about the more prominent Elder athletes declaring their choices for college, some to local schools, others to national Division 1 schools. But what does the average Panther think about the move from High school to college?

Even with all of the options presented to Elder students many of them, including yours truly, are mostly undecided as to what profession they want to dedicate themselves to four or more years of study. These students are known as undecided.

Undecided make up a large portion of incoming college freshman and now many universities do not require students to make a decision until their sophomore year.

Many studies show that the 80% of college students will change their major at least once, so the decision to go to college is even more complicated.

Senior Cody Roseberry was kind enough to share his thoughts on the matter, who has decided to spend the years after Elder at Mt. St. Joseph’s University acquiring his teaching degree.  

“It makes you think that you’re time here is almost over,” Roseberry comments about already having a decision made for college. “But you always have that bond with the guys you graduate with.” He concludes in reference to the special bonds formed at Elder High School between the students.

Picking a college is only half of the decision, as picking a major is often a major determining factor for Elder students and high school students in general when they pick a college or university to attend after graduation. Some of us want to be teachers, businessmen, forensic scientists, and many many other professions and the students who know what their passion is are picking schools more tailored towards their needs as individuals.

Students like Andrew Burke and Cody Roseberry either have their preferred schools already picked out or are looking at a small number of schools that tailor to their particular and unique wishes for the future.

Any way that you cut it, the class of 2015 are making up their minds and making one of the most important decisions of our lives, and one that will have a dramatic effect on our lives as a whole. Some of us have a plan and others don’t, some know where they want to attend while others are still searching and comparing schools, and others still are not going to school and are going directly into the workforce or military. But one thing is for sure, we are all moving on and moving forward into the next chapter of our lives.