The end of the 2010-2011 school year is quickly approaching, and although AHS seniors can’t wait to leave, the junior class is struggling not to crack under the pressure of looking for colleges. Junior year is easily the most critical and stressful year in high school; it’s the last chance for students to show colleges what they are capable of doing and it’s also time for students to figure out where they want to spend the next four years of their lives.

Junior Annette Janwatin recently visited the University of Virginia and really enjoyed it. “UVA was my first college to visit, and it definitely made me feel at home,” Janwatin said. Over the summer, Janwatin also plans to visit other colleges such as Brown, Yale, Duke and Stanford. “Visiting schools before applications are due is important to open your options to other schools that you may not have thought of previously. It really helps solidify your school choices so that you don’t apply to 20+ colleges.”

Like Janwatin, junior Kyle Kowalczyk thinks juniors should start college visits early so they can have a lot of options. “It’s really important for juniors to go on college visits because it gives them an idea of what life would be like on a college campus,” Kowalczyk said. Kowalczyk visited Virginia Tech in the fall and she plans to visit James Madison University and Mary Washington University in the spring.

Senior Ian Griffin wishes he would have looked at more colleges his junior year instead of waiting until his senior year. “I applied to West Virginia, Alabama and Longwood University. I haven’t visited any of them yet but I wish I did so I would’ve known where I really want to go before I even applied,” Griffin said.

Junior year may seem stressful enough and you probably don’t want to add anything to make it even more hectic, but college visits are a must in order to find out which colleges you want to apply to and attend.