Events to Attend:

Being a senior in high school comes with lots of new exciting events, as seniors have worked hard for the last three years of high school, taking standardized tests and applying to colleges. 

This year the seniors can look forward to prom, a trip to Cedar Point, and graduation. 

“We have a prom date which is the Saturday before graduation on May 21 and a cedar point trip which is on May 23. We are trying to do both, and they are being planned. The Cedar Point trip and prom are the senior only events as of right now,” Michael Hinze, Westerville South High school principal, said. 

Both the classes of 2020 and 2021 were affected by the pandemic. Graduation attendees for the Class of 2020 included the graduate, the graduate’s family, the principal, and a few staff members. To adhere to the social distancing protocol, students had to arrive individually to receive their diplomas. Graduation for the Class of 2021 was held on the football field as a whole, and the graduates were limited in who they could invite.  

As of right now, the pandemic has caused a lot of modifications to many events such as mandatory masks and three feet social distancing. As the pandemic rates start to plateau and many people receive the appropriate vaccine, many events are occurring normally. 

As for the class of 2022, there seems to be the hope of somewhat normal graduation. “Graduation was outside in the stadium last year which was cold. It was also complicated and a lot of work for me; so for selfish reasons, I would rather do it in the Celeste Center like we usually do. I don’t anticipate us doing a drive-up graduation. We are long past that,” Hinze said. 

Many students such as senior Michael Donkor want to have a regular graduation. “I want to be able to have a normal graduation this year so that I can celebrate this huge achievement with my friends and family,” Donkor said.

Purchasing Caps and Gowns: 

With the middle of senior year approaching, seniors are purchasing and putting in their cap and gown orders. 

Currently, individual cap and gown units start at $30.95. With the mascot tassel costing $13.95. They can be purchased at the website jostens.com. As discussed in the senior class meeting, as the year continues, the prices will increase. This is to encourage students to purchase sooner than later.  

The reason for the rush to get students to purchase their cap and gowns early in the year is due to the current shipping issues occurring across the country. 

“We’re worried, last year it got a little bit dicey towards the end. We were getting caps and gown orders in the week of graduation… We are trying to get everybody to order now so that we’re confident we can get the stuff in ahead of time,” Michael Hinze, Westerville South High school principal, said. 

For the first time ever this year, all caps and gowns will be red. In previous years, girls would traditionally wear white while boys would wear red. 

“I understand what they are trying to do, but it’s also making a lot of people mad, and I feel like everyone should get to pick what they wear, whether it’s red or white,” senior Sasha Dominguez said. 

Westerville South is not the only school in the district to now have all one color for cap and gowns. “We’ve been talking about that for several years at the three high schools going one color for lots and lots of reasons.  Every school has had its unique challenges with getting the right caps and gowns. You make it twice as difficult when you have two different colors; it’s particularly challenging for us to maintain,” Hinze said. 

Applying to College: 

Early action has ended for most colleges, the deadline mostly being on Nov. 1 and Nov. 15. Students who did not apply early, still have the opportunity to apply to schools through regular decision and rolling admissions. 

The deadline for most regular decision applications will be near the beginning of January and for most colleges the deadline being on Jan. 1. 

Students who decide to apply later in the year can apply through rolling admissions, where the application window for this process is much larger. Most often with rolling admissions, students can apply to classes up until the classes are full. 

“There are some sort of deadlines you need to meet but for rolling admissions, the main focus is that really they just keep accepting everybody until they reach a capacity where they can’t take anymore” guidance intern, Amy Brake said. 

Students who have already applied may still feel anxious waiting on colleges to respond. “I have applied, but I feel stressed waiting for my results as I have put so much time and effort into the process. I’m nervous I won’t get accepted to my dream university,” senior Sabrina Mohamed said. 

The next step for students who have already applied would be to look at scholarship opportunities to lighten the cost of college fees. 

Applying to Scholarships: 

As seniors apply to college, many students seek scholarships to compensate for the cost of applications and college. 

The majority of scholarships come from colleges looking at grades and test scores. Each college also has their own scholarship lists with applications.  “This is where the majority of scholarships come from. Look on the specific college websites. Please pay close attention to application deadlines and procedures. Some application deadlines are as early as November 1.  Strive for the best grades possible and strong test scores” Westerville High School Counselor Jennifer Stovall said. 

There are different scholarships that students can apply to such as Need-Based Scholarships and Merit-Based Scholarships. Need-based scholarships are also defined as financial aid given to students on the basis of financial needs. Merit-Based Scholarships are given to students based on their academic, athletic, artistic, or special interests merit.

There are community scholarships on Schoology where students can apply to as many as they want. The Community Scholarship Application will be available on December 16. 

 There is also a scholarship list on Naviance where students can look for college-specific scholarships, local and regional scholarships. “Check Naviance. Any scholarship information (national and state) that is filtered through the counseling department will be listed on Naviance. Check weekly for updates.” Stovall said. 

Every student is eligible to apply to as many scholarships as they deem appropriate. “All students attending college are eligible for scholarships but grades and test scores play a key part in who receives them.  All students should be mindful of their grades and test scores starting their freshman year” Stovall added. There is no fee to apply to a scholarship and beware of scholarship scams if asked to pay to apply.