For many students applying to schools, taking standardized tests, and evaluating your options are stressors for senior year. However, there is a small population of our very own student body who is already committed to a college during their junior year.

    For Lexie Coldiron, Tori Gay, Baily Lynch, and Hannah Smith they’re just a handful of students going into their senior year already having a plan for college.

    Going on college visits and doing research on schools is a topic that has been on these girls minds as early as 8th grade. Coldiron felt the push to go on college visits “since sophomore year.”

    Junior, Lexie Coldiron explained her experience with the SAT’s and how it differed from her peers “I took my first SAT at the end of my sophomore year, which was weird none of my friends were even thinking about the SAT’s.” In addition to taking the SAT’s earlier than most, Coldiron felt there “was never a quarter where [she] could slack off with grades.”

   Having the right people to talk to while committing early was very important for all three recruits. The junior athletes have all had “extensive” conversations with their college coaches.

    Lynch who is committed to McDaniel to play DIII soccer elaborated on how involved she is with her college before she even starts “my college coach said she’s coming to all our tournaments and games, making sure we’re fit for the upcoming season.”

    The juniors all believe going into their final year of club sports they feel more motivation than ever. Coldiron who’s committed to Lafayette College for lacrosse “has the most motivation because it’s the last year to make memories.”

    Smith, who is committed to Shenandoah feels driven by her teammates and “ to help out the girls on the team who aren’t committed yet,” said the junior.

  When asked if Smith had ever had any doubts on her college she didn’t hesitate to say, “I’m the type of person that knows what I want” and never having any doubts.

    However, Coldiron has felt her share of doubts throughout her recruiting process. “I would have 1 or 2 tournaments for club where I didn’t play very well, making me question if I was good enough or if I had to change my expectations.”

    Lynch was a recruit who did have to change her expectations. She described how before committing and admitted McDaniel wasn’t her first choice. “At first I had my dream school I wanted to go to, but after talking to McDaniel and looking at the financial points, I realized it was a better fit for me.”

    Meredith Price, also going for DIII lacrosse and has verbally committed to Salisbury University. “In the fall I emailed a lot of coaches that I was interested in, and they come to my games and if they are interested in you as well, then you can go to their camps.”

To get a better feel for the college lifestyle there are overnight experiences that students can participate in. “I was scared at first but after I committed, I felt like it was a good choice and took a lot of pressure off of me.”