Leading the way to college

At 7:15 each morning, my younger brother climbs into my car with me as we begin our journey to school. I enjoy his company during these early mornings when I drive the familiar path. I am driving the route that he may drive when he receives his driver’s license.

As the firstborn child in my family, I don’t have a sibling ahead of me to blaze a trail in life. The responsibility of being the oldest comes with its advantages and disadvantages. Don’t get me wrong; I really like being the oldest. It is a real compliment to watch my younger brother grow up and look up to me along the way.

As a senior in high school, however, this past year has made me begin to wish I had someone ahead of me to carve a path. I am pressured into finding a college soon, yet I feel as if I have to start from nothing. I have started my college search process without a rough outline. Although I have narrowed down my choices, the right college has still to be picked out of the bunch. However, I wouldn’t be at the place I am today without the steps I have taken to help me along the way.

Like any other high school student, I began to receive mail from colleges during my sophomore year. In the past couple of years, I have seen myself as a high school student supporting my school at the state football championship, not as a college student walking campus to her next class. In contrast, my best friend, the youngest child in her family, was ready to leave for college yesterday.

However, this isn’t the only overwhelming factor of the whole process. I have always been a good student, but I don’t have any idea where I want to go to college or what kind of career I want to pursue. I knew that I had to start somewhere, and I knew I had to start early.

During my junior year, I started to actually read my college mail. (Yes, you should actually read it!) I began to gain information about all colleges—big and small, private and state, in state and out of state. By doing this, I learned about the differences in schools, the programs they offered, the campuses and so much more. Many college Web sites also include videos with  helpful information.

From there, I chose several colleges that interested me and proceeded to schedule campus visits to get a feel for each one. These colleges included small private schools, such as Luther College and Wartburg College; state schools, such as Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa; and out-of-state schools, such as Colorado State University.

From visiting campuses, I gained a greater view of the college experience at each one of these schools. These experiences allowed me to meet professors, tour buildings and size up all kinds of dorm rooms. I found it to be very important to go with your first instinct from visiting campuses. The campus visit makes all the difference when picking the right college.

I found that as the firstborn in my family, a very important part of my decision process was talking to college students, recent grads and even college professors. I talked to my cousins, older friends, older siblings of friends and just about anyone I could think of. Each person gave me some insight on his or her college years, and each helped me in a different way. My cousins showed me what Greek life is like, my friends showed me what dorm life is like, and professors showed me what classes and schedules are like.

Although I don’t have an older sibling to blaze a trail for me, each one of the people I talked to about college helped me do that very thing. They have prepared me to start my freshman year in college and pave a path for my brother to follow.

Next year, no matter where I end up, I’m sure I’ll feel a mix of excitement and fear of the unknown. But I can go into college with the confidence that I’ve made an informed decision about my future.

Hanna Peterson is a 17-year-old high school senior at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. She loves to spend her time dancing or with her friends.

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