THE PACK

Kilbourne News
With graduaton drawing closer each
passing day, it is tme for students to start
looking ahead at what comes next. The frst
year of college is a terrifying prospect to many
upcoming students, but there are things that
can be done to beter prepare students for
the coming year. Whether you will be living at
home or living on campus, there are things that
people can do to make their frst year of college
easier and hopefully more enjoyable.
One of the most important things
that a new student should focus on is their
Quelling the Fears of College Life
by
James Cosner
Natonal College Decision Day
By Rea Singh
May 1
st
is an important day for
seniors and colleges all over the country.
This day is known as Natonal College
Decision Day because seniors everywhere
have to pay their acceptance fees to their
college of top choice. The school buzzes
with excitement, and seniors wear
Continued on Page 3
classes. It is important that you do not schedule too
many classes, or else you will run the risk of being
overwhelmed by the work load. Just because you can
take a lot of class does not mean that it is a good idea.
Kilbourne guidance counselor Ms. Abbot said that it is
important that you know yourself when you schedule
your classes. If there is a class that you know will give
you trouble, maybe it would be beter to take it at a
later tme. You have to be able to understand your
own strengths and weaknesses and create a schedule
that will ft your style. The key is to make sure that
you choose classes that you will be able to handle
and that will be easy to keep track of. Ms. Abbot
stated that the biggest mistake a student can make
is choosing not to go to class. Ms. Abbot said that
students should not take classes early in the morning
if they know that they will not be able to wake up to
atend the class. It is important that you take your
classes seriously because if you fall behind in college,
it will be much more difcult for you to catch up. Ms.
Abbot recommended fnding classes that you will
enjoy, because you will get more into the class if it is
something that you are interested in.
Another important thing is college life in
general. Kyle Robinson, a student who recently
fnished his frst year at OSU, stated that it is a good
idea to make friends while you are on campus. Having
friends that you can talk to and hang out with will help
alleviate any stress that could potentally come
up during your tme in college. It can be
intmidatng at frst being in a new place
surrounded by so many people, but having
friends will really help you feel more
comfortable in your new surroundings. Ms.
Abbot says that another good idea is to join
a club. There are usually large numbers of
clubs throughout colleges and picking one
that has to do with something that you are
interested in will help you meet other people
that share your interests. It is a good idea to
make friends and have leisure tme during
your tme in college, but it is important to
make sure that your leisure tme does not get
in the way of your academics. Ms. Abbot
says that the key is to fnd a balance between
school, work, and leisure tme. Finding this
balance will beter help you make it through
your freshman year.
One of the optons that you have
when going to college is to live on campus in
a dorm.
Kyle Robinson stated that one of the most
important things that you can do is to try
to get along with your room mate. This is
the person you will be living with during the
school year, so even if it is someone that
you do not necessarily like, you should try to
make the best of it. Kyle said that you should
both talk to your roommate so that you both have an
understanding of what you both expect of each other.
This will make living with these people easier and
hopefully you will end up enjoying being around your
roommate. Ms. Abbot stressed that it would be a very
bad idea to try to room with someone you know during
your freshman year. She said that living with a friend
would distract you from your work and this could be
disastrous if you allow yourself to get too distracted.
Another problem that students face when they
decide to live on campus is their diet. When I asked
Kyle Robinson about his eatng habits, he told me about
how easy it is to just eat junk all the tme. He stated
that though the opton is there to eat anything you
want, it is a very bad idea to eat nothing but junk. It is
easy to just go to a McDonalds or any other fast food
restaurants but fast food is not something that you
want to make a big part of your diet. Kyle said that it
is very important to try to fnd things that are healthy
to eat instead of just going for food that you can get
to quickly. He also suggested that it would be a good
idea to stay actve either using a gym or other ways of
getng exercise. It is very easy to get out of shape while
you are living at college but if you balance the healthy
food with the snacking and you fnd a way to exercise,
then you should be fne.
College can be a very scary prospect for students
who are about to go into it. It is a big step up from high
school and it is one that will challenge you. The
key is to make sure that you are able to get
through the college experience and this is
something that can easily be done if you
remember a few things. First of all, you must
be able to balance your focus between school
and leisure tme. Spending too much of your
focus on one over the other can be a serious
mistake that could lead to a lot of stress. You
should try to make new friends while you are
at college. It could be very easy to be shy and
not meet anyone new, but having friends in
college will help you make the best of your
college experience. It can be scary to think
that you are startng a completely new thing,
but you should take comfort in the fact that
you will not be alone.
their future school gear proudly.
However, contrary to popular belief,
students can pay their acceptance
to more than one school if they are
stll stuck on which one to choose,
and they can stll enroll or un-enroll
afer the May 1
st
deadline.
While interviewing local
senior at Worthington Kilbourne
High School, Kevin Liu, about
Continued from A1
the May 1
st
deadline, he stated, I
paid my acceptance fee to the Ohio
State University by May 1
st
, but I am
stll waitlisted from the University
of Chicago, and waitng to hear back
from them. If I get in, I will un-enroll
from Ohio State, and go there! The
admissions ofce at The Ohio State
University confrmed the deadline by
saying, Acceptance fees are due May
1
st
, a natonal deadline for acceptance
deposits. However, we advise you
to pay as soon as you decide, since
housing and orientaton materials are
mailed in the order fees are paid. If
students decide afer the May deadline
that they wish not to atend Ohio State,
they will not be refunded the 100
dollars.
A common misconcepton is that
seniors cannot commit to a school
afer May 1
st
. Molly Lord, a counselor
at Worthington Kilbourne High School,
explained, Though strongly discouraged,
students can stll commit to schools afer
May 1
st
, depending on space availability.
Some schools may no longer honor their
scholarship ofers, or in those cases where
they dont have enough space, may no
longer be able to accept the students.
So students are potentally losing their
acceptance spot because the colleges have
a right to withdraw their acceptance ofer
afer this date. It is important to know that
it is considered unethical to double deposit
(which is in essence saying yes to two
schools). Most students dont know this
crucial informaton that colleges can take
away their acceptance, and since seniors
tend to be lazy and procrastnate by this
tme of the year, it is vital that they are
informed of the possible consequences.
A big queston on everyones
mind is why May 1
st
was deemed as
Natonal Decision Day. Lord stated, It is
my understanding that it is a date they
decided on based on the tmeline for
students receiving acceptances, for
fnancial aid packages to students,
and then giving students/families
enough tme to compare colleges
and make a good decision. (I.E. Many
college acceptances dont come untl
end of March, beginning of April,
and fnancial aid packages come out
around the same tme. This stll gives
families approximately a month to
make a decision). In additon, it stll
gives colleges tme to fnalize their
freshmen class- ofering some waitlist
students opportunites, divvying up
unused funds, etc. This date is meant
to reduce the anxiety of the student and
give the college ample tme to prepare
for their freshmen class. However, for
many seniors, this deadline causes more
stress than necessary. For example,
local senior at Greendale High School,
Avanish Dakinedi, said, I applied
to Ohio State, Wisconsin, Indiana
University, and University of Minnesota!
I never thought that I would go to Ohio
State though because it is very far from
me. This is why it was difcult for me to
make a decision by May 1
st
. However, I have
now commited to Ohio State because the
scholarships I received made it the cheapest
opton! On the other hand, some students
took no stress deciding on their future
schools. Kevin Spiers, senior at Worthington
Kilbourne High School, is one such student.
I applied to three schools, but Ohio State
is the only one I go into, so I dont have any
other choice but to go there. This wasnt
a totally
horrible
thing
because
I got to
pay my
acceptance fee way in advance,
and spared myself the stress of the
deadline! Afer talking to a couple
other seniors at Worthington Kilbourne
High School, it was apparent that most
of them would be atending either Ohio
State University, Cincinnat University,
or Kent State University. Surprisingly,
many of them did not take much stress
in the decision process.
No mater how stressful the
month of May may be, it is defnitely
a rewarding one. The experience is
diferent for all students, but in the
end, it can be life-changing.
Emmas choice
By Merica Cofey
Emma Grifn is a Worthington
Kilbourne High School (WKHS) graduate
with a 3.01 as her GPA. She knows hard
works pays of. She plans to do four to
fve years studying early child educaton.
Her plan is to spend one year at Columbus
State because of fnancial troubles. Than
of to bowling green when shes fnancially
stable. The reason for her choosing early
child educaton was Because I love and
their easier for me to handle rather than
older kids and because their Adorable.
When atending Columbus State shes
going to live at home. But when she goes to
bowling green she plans to stay on campus
and live the college life and experience new
things like living on your own how it feels to
provide for yourself.
Since she did not receive any scholar
ships shes going to Columbus State her
frst year. She wants to get two jobs and do
full tme in school. Itll be very difcult and
challenging but you have to be dedicated
and motvated. Shes ready for the college
life and wants to be Independent. She ready
because shes tres of the immaturity at
school and the censored School life. Some
things shes going to do to prepare and be
ready is go to the library frequently, and
have a tutor source to be prepared and
successful in school. She wants to be
Involved in choir because she loves singing
and sharing her voice.
Honestly everyone misses
something whens its gone. Everyone
looks back at their past and plans for
the future. Your past afects your future
in a minor on in a major way. Once you
Get in college and face reality youll miss
the easy stuf in High school that you
complained about at one tme. One thing
that Emma going to miss the most is her
friends because of the Wonderful tmes
they spent together. One of the useful
tps that shell take from high school and
will contnue to use in college is never
procrastnate. I believe Emma will be a
great Student drive, motvaton, and a
lot of patents that most people dont
have. She should be Very proud of her
achievements and accomplishments. All
the ups and downs to life make her a beter
and stronger person. Going of to college is
also known as the bird leaving the nest and
learning how to live on its own. Many of
students is going to have to leave the nest
some will be successes others will fail but
that shouldnt scare you from trying and
being successful in your life tme. The world
is compettve in every aspect so u has to
challenge your self to be the best at every
thing you do so you have a beter chance
of succeeding. Life is full of challenges and
obstacles that you have to over come.