The time has come for the seniors of the Osceola County School for the Arts (OCSA) to receive their college admission letters.

This year at OCSA, students used a program named Naviance to help them with the college application process. Naviance is a one-stop shop for nearly all of a student’s college needs. The program houses a senior’s college list, college applications, resumes, and letters of recommendation. Counselors also have access to all of the student accounts and can help with any student needs.

Nearly 35% of the senior class has gotten accepted into the top 100 schools in the nation. Most students have decided to stay in-state for college because of financial incentives. Even still, there are quite a few seniors who have decided to travel out of state or to Ivy-League schools.

Many of the students at OCSA have prepared for college by taking Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment (DE) classes. Students who opt to take DE and AP classes often tend to stay in state to get their associates degree. Both AP and DE classes are considered rigorous coursework that increases your weighted grade point average (GPA). A higher GPA increases acceptance probability.

There are many factors that seniors should take into account before confirming the college they will be going to. Students should evaluate what is important to them. Whether it is the size of the school, the location, sports, family, or the quality of the program they are interested in, students should ask themselves whether or not the school is a good fit.

Underclassmen can also prepare for the college application process. Students should be updating Naviance regularly and imputing their volunteer hours, clubs they are involved in, and any other extracurriculars. Juniors should be creating a Common App account, working on their resume, and signing up to take the SAT and ACT. According to Mrs. Gil, the career counselor at OCSA, “Students should sign up to my remind, for any information about the college.” For the code to remind you can visit her office in the library.