The second semester is already under way and college is around the corner for many seniors. College is a big step for many people. Many students are leaving their homes and for some it  can be scary. Others will embrace the opportunity and enjoy college right away. It is a step forward in their lives and these students are looking forward to moving on and growing up.

Waiting for college admissions notifications can be a tough time for many people. Once you get in, you finally know all your hard work was worth the effort and you are getting somewhere with your life.

A lot of seniors here are ready for college because they want to start out on their own and be in complete control of their lives. A lot of other people just need a change of scenery. Senior Taylor Saling says, “I am more than ready for college. I am counting down the days.”

Some students feel that school has not fully prepared them for college. Senior Hesler Deleon stated, “at the moment I feel scared and confused [about] if I am really ready for college. I feel like school could’ve done a better job to actually prepare us to go to college in many different ways. But at the end of the day it is up to us to prepare ourselves. At the moment, I don’t feel that prepared, but college will make me get prepared once I am there. I am just really excited about what will happen in the future.” Some students don’t realize how ready they are for college until they get there. College is one of the greatest times in one’s life for most people. It may take a month or two to get used to being on your own but it will end up being a great experience.

Senior Monica Zeidan said, “As the time gets closer and closer for college, more and more things come up that I have never thought about. Emotionally, I am ready. But there is a lot of little things that I have to take care of before I go. The major thing that is standing in my way for being 100% ready is figuring out finance. I am working on getting as many scholarships and as much financial aid as possible, or else college is no longer a possibility for me.”

Some former Terra Linda students  voiced their opinions on how TL helped them last year. Current Sonoma State freshman Brian Zacharias said, “I feel like TL did prepare me for college, but i didn’t notice what exactly they are doing. It’s hard to explain specific areas but when I first came to Sonoma I didn’t feel like I was unprepared. School wise, English helped a lot, AP lit with Mr. Tow helped a lot and other English classes helped a lot because in college, there’s a ton of writing.” Zacharias continued to say what he wished TL had done his senior year: “Something that would’ve helped, would have been if teachers in any class would just take like five minutes of each class on tips for time management, organization, and study tips for college.”

Other college freshmen also said AP classes helped prepare them. Ethan Gaines, currently at Arizona State said that, “The AP classes prepared me for the kind of rigorous work I am now doing in college. My college classes are formatted very similar to the AP classes I took.”

Other seniors didn’t find TL to be that helpful and weren’t as ready. Current freshman at Sacramento state Natalia Fernandez said, “I didn’t really use the resources. I didn’t even know there were any resources other than the CCC.” Fernandez went on to say, “MSEL and Mr. Madsen helped me figure everything out.”

Not everyone is prepared for college. TL for the most part as the resources to make everyone ready for college. Some people don’t find what TL has helpful but there are other people who can influence a person’s readiness for college.  
College is a big step in one’s life but a lot of people are ready and super excited. For the one’s who are not ready, they will either be ready before they go off to college or a few months into first semester.