It’s November, and you know what that means. For most seniors, it is easily the most chaotic time of the year. Millions of seniors all over the country are scrambling to fill out their applications and send them into their schools on time. To make matters worse, COVID-19 has put a huge damper on the college application process. Many students have not been able to visit the campuses of colleges they plan to attend, and standardized tests are more difficult to sign up for due to cancelations and limited seating. COVID-19 has taken the college stress to a whole new level. As stated by HHS senior Isabella Algieri, “Tackling the college process has not been easy, especially with the added stress of the pandemic. It is extremely difficult to settle down and complete college applications along with all the other work we have to do. Test optional schools have relieved a lot of stress, but the difficulty of how colleges will have to adapt to COVID is scary to think about.” Sarah Giarraputo agreed, sharing, “Most of my classmates have not even gotten the chance to visit schools due to COVID-19. One could definitely say it has impacted the class of 2021 in astronomical ways.”

However, despite the large population of students that have started their college process this fall, there are many students who have been working to get into college since the beginning of September their sophomore and junior years. These students are athletes, planning on going to college for athletics. Throughout our school, over 30 students have already committed to playing a sport at a school.

The college process for these students has been very different than the rest of us. Their way of deciding on what school is their best fit is through interaction with the coaches, conference calls, how they get along with the other teammates, and positions needed to be filled. Then, when they get recruited to a school, they can verbally commit. The process after that involves sending in a regular application to the school. So many students in our school have put in countless hours, whether it be over phone calls or during multiple hour practices every day a week. These students are extremely hard workers, and have committed to many great schools that will impact them greatly.

Jack Krisch, Alex Fascilla, and Aidan Bonn are three seniors who share something in common: lacrosse. These students have worked very hard at their sport and it has paid off. Each of them have now committed to college and will continue their academic and athletic careers at amazing schools. “I’m going to Babson college, a school near Boston. I am planning to play for their D3 lacrosse team in the NEWMAC conference,” stated Alex Fascilla. Babson is the number one entrepreneurship school in the country, which is what Alex is planning to study, with the potential of going into marketing or finance. Planning to study in Massachusetts as well is Jack Krisch, who will be attending UMass Amherst starting the Fall of 2021. “I am planning on being a mechanical engineering major with a minor in finance,” shares Jack Krisch. Krisch will be playing as a midfielder for their lacrosse team which he is beyond excited about. Aidan Bonn, another additio

n to the HHS senior class, is playing lacrosse at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He described it as “a home away from home,” with a great business program and internship opportunities. 

So how have many senior athletes decided which school is best for them? As Julia Gorecki, one of the lacrosse players for HHS, and a SUNY Oswego commit, shares, “the Oswego campus is beautiful and just felt like it was the best fit for me. They also have my major which is business administration so I couldn’t be more excited to start my college career there”.

As stressful as this time can be, it is also an extremely exciting time where students can find a place to call home for the following four years!