Many juniors and seniors at Erie High School are getting ready to take their next step in their education journey and starting to decide where they want to explore those opportunities. Fall of 2025 is the time most juniors and seniors are applying for college, and those college application deadlines are either coming up or already passed.
The first step of choosing a college you want to go to is having an idea about what you want to do for a further job, and then what education requirements you need for that future job. From there, research is needed on what college has those specific goals like majors and minors. Or, you might want to consider other options for colleges based on your location and opportunities.
If your dream school is perfect in every way but it’s just too expensive there are so many scholarship opportunities available to help decline some of those expenses. Erie High School offers so many scholarships for Seniors and even Juniors.
Lizzie Owens, a senior at EHS, committed to Florida National University in June of 2024, a month before her senior year. She’s played club softball for 8 years and she was on varsity for Erie Softball. She was offered a scholarship for softball from FNU and accepted with other opportunities that the school held for her.
Flordia National University
“The scholarship I was offered had a big impact, I wasn’t only going to college but I was also out of state. My family had a huge impact on my decision, I am very close with my parents and having them move with me to Florida really helped me be confident in my decision,” Owens voiced.
With her family’s support makes moving out of state for college much easier. Some people look for colleges for the college experience. FNU for Owens had some pros and cons. “I have been very excited for the ‘college experience’ for a couple of years, the only issue with my school was that it did not have dorms. I knew this was a very small thing to be looking into so hard, I am going to college for the education and for the sport that I love. Thinking about the main factors really helped me look past the small things”, Owens emphasized.
It’s very rare you find a perfect college with no cons and all pros. For Owens she is able to attend FNU in August progressing in softball and continuing her education while having a home feel with her parents out in Florida. Some students are lucky enough to get scholarships for their sports, and their sport is what is most important to them in the college picking process.
Another senior at Erie is also following his education for the sport football. Carson Hageman committed to the Air Force Academy in November of 2024 with a full-ride scholarship. Hangeman had many factors he was looking at during his college decision making process.
Air Force Academy
Hageman said, “When it came to choosing a college, I knew I had several priorities that would shape my decision. First and foremost, I wanted to play football at a high level, for a team that consistently competes for Mountain West Championships. The Air Force Academy stood out to me not only because of its strong football program but also for its outstanding academic reputation. I knew I needed to find a school that would set me up for long-term success, one where I could earn a degree that would open doors for my future, without the burden of student loans. The Academy’s combination of a world-class education, a competitive football team, and a clear path to a meaningful career make it the perfect fit.”
Hageman is a prime example of everything fitting perfectly with little to no cons and mostly pros. Football is very important to him as is his education level. Along with the added plus of low tuition, student debt, close to family, sport opportunities, and educational attainment at the Air Force Academy, came with Hageman’s struggle of the application process to the Academy.
“The application itself was a lot of work. The part that was most difficult was forming 6+ essay questions. Not only do you have to do the long tedious application but I had to apply and interview with the congressman and senators of Colorado to earn a recommendation from them” Hageman explains.
Some colleges are easy to apply for with just a few questions, letters of recommendations, and a short essay. Some of the college application processes are also vigorously challenging depending on what college you are applying to. In Hageman’s case he had to do a lot of hard work to apply to the Air Force Academy, but he knew it would be worth it because that school was his first choice.
Most seniors are the ones spotlighted for their college commitments, scholarships, and offers, but there are also juniors who are experiencing the college scholarship process in their second to last year of high school. The college picking process is not specific to just seniors, as some juniors here at Erie are already making a list of colleges they are interested in, or are already getting offers for sports.
A junior, Braylon Englehart committed to Saint Bonaventure in October of 2024 to play division one lacrosse. Englehart weighed out many factors after he got offered a partial ride scholarship. Everything he was looking for was at Saint Bonaventure. He hasn’t replied yet, but he is grateful for his opportunity nonetheless.
Saint Bonaventure Athletic Center
“Financial Aid/Scholarships influenced my decision heavily. Lacrosse is a sport that rarely gives out full rides and mostly gives out partials. So when they called me and told me that I got a very good scholarship it is hard to turn down and helps set up the rest of my life with very minimal debt” Englehart experienced.
College can be very expensive, and for these three students at Erie they were lucky enough to get scholarships to help out a lot of their student debt. Englehart had to take out a student loan that is also helping them get out of college with minimal debt. Student loans are a great way to help with debt along with support from family.
“I think the help of my club, high school coach and parents helped a ton navigating this process. Saint Bonnies was never my dream school going up and it made me want to wait a little bit but my coaches helped me see the value in being recruited so heavily by a school and the scholarship” Englehart expresses.
College is such a huge commitment, especially when it’s a full 4 year college, even when it’s just community college or a 2 year degree college plan. Family and friends’ support can have a huge positive impact for the college choosing process. For Englehart he had a lot of support and influences from others in his life.
College can be a sensitive subject but also an important topic nowadays. With weighing out all the factors, pros and cons comes for a good choosing process. Getting an offer or scholarship obviously isn’t the only way to get into college but is helpful for academics and sports.
There’s many factors involved in choosing a college. From locations, support, scholarships and others.
