Senior class prepares for next step

Three Sanford seniors shared their ongoing unique decisions around college and the college process as it is underway. Ava Lafferty, auditioning as an art major; Alistair Bebbington, hoping to attend a university in Scotland; and Lindy McNelis, considering taking a gap year, shared their unique perspectives.

“Distance is important-from home- the closer the better,” Lafferty said when asked what has influenced her college decision the most. She auditioned at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., and received an acceptance letter into their musical theater program that “was like payoff.”

Unlike Lafferty, Bebbington favored schools much farther away. He considered over four schools overseas, including his top pick: The University of Glasgow.

“I wanted to do something different. I also want the experience of living in another country.” With family and friends in Scotland, Bebbington hopes to spend more time with them.

As she considers the potential of looking for a job and living on her own for a year before college, “I don’t know a lot about the real world. A gap year has a high chance of helping me, I think,” said McNelis.

She is hoping to have a job in music business or theater involvement while she matures and gains real-life experiences that will prepare her before starting college.

With tuition in mind, Alistair explained, “it’s lower than the average American college.” This is due to the fact that college is free in most European countries for their residents.

McNelis also spoke on the importance of thinking about student debt. “I think that you can still get an equally good experience wherever you go, so ultimately it comes down to non-academic things such as price and living conditions.”

After being asked what the most challenging part of the college process was for her, Lafferty laughed and then spoke about writing college essays. “I’m like kind of a lazy person, so it takes me a minute to get things done, but once they’re in it’s fine.”

Bebbington agreed that writing his college essays were challenging, but said his mindset for college essays was that they were “just an English essay and deadlines like schoolwork deadlines.”

McNelis finished with a piece of advice for underclassmen. “Everything can be changed or fixed. Nothing is undoable. It’s my mother’s motto actually.”