With graduation approaching, seniors are choosing their paths after high school. While some students have chosen to stay close to home, others are venturing 2000 miles away. With diverse paths and futures, seniors have chosen to prioritize what matters most to them in a college setting.

“The Paw Print” interviewed four Wilde Lake seniors who had unique college decision experiences.

Jordan Treger, Towson University, 26 miles from Wilde Lake

At the beginning of senior year, Jordan Treger didn’t imagine herself at Towson University. Now, she couldn’t be more

excited to be walking around Towson’s campus for the next four years.

Jordan didn’t have a dream school when she was applying to college. She said she applied to schools in and out of state. After receiving her decisions from colleges, Jordan was accepted to schools in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut, but what ultimately made her choose Towson was its honors college and career opportunities.

“I went to a Towson tour, and they shared that with the honors college, you get direct admission into nursing instead of having to apply for the nursing program,” Jordan said. “That’s how I knew it was the right school for me.”

Jordan said that while staying close to home was not a priority at the beginning of the college application process, it became important to her towards the end of senior year, which solidified her decision to commit to Towson.

Aside from being within an hour from family, Jordan is looking forward to the environment of Towson’s classes.

“The classes are very small, so I feel like I will get more hands-on experience rather than being in a class with a lot of people and not having that. That also means more one￾on-one time with teachers,” she said.

Jordan says the small school environment is perfect for her, and she looks forward to getting to experience independence while surrounded by the Towson community.

“I’m excited to get out of the house and be on my own and independent,” Jordan said. “Towson is small enough that I will always see someone that I know walking by on campus, which sounds perfect for me.”

Antonio Hardy, University of Maryland, 23 miles from Wilde Lake

When beginning the application process, Antonio Hardy said the University of Maryland, College Park felt like a reach

school he had to apply to because it was in￾state. Little did he know he would be heading to College Park after high school.

Aside from UMD, Antonio says he applied to seven other schools. Maryland was not Antonio’s top choice, but he said when the acceptance letter came in, he was almost positive this was his new home because of its atmosphere as a school.

“UMD just seems like it has a really diverse atmosphere. I’ve always wanted a good amount of diversity in the college that I go to, and Maryland seems to have a little bit of everybody. That attracted me to the school,” said Antonio. 12.9% of undergraduates are Black or African American, according to the office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Antonio was choosing between UMD and a historically Black college. In the end, UMD’s diverse environment combined with its location made it the best fit. Antonio says staying in Maryland will benefit him as a government and politics major because of his proximity to D.C.

“I don’t think there’s a better area for what I want to study than right here in Maryland,” said Antonio. “I have better opportunities for internships, not only over the summer, but also throughout the school year because UMD is so close to D.C.”

Antonio will also get to stay close to home, which made UMD the perfect match. “I’ll still get to be close to my family, who I care a lot about,” he said.

Josh Wright, Brigham Young University, 2094 miles from Wilde Lake

Josh Wright knew where his future home was before senior year began. He was sure of where he belonged, that the

only schools he applied to were Brigham Young University in Utah and Brigham Young University – Idaho.

Josh knew BYU was the right place for him because of his family ties to the school. Josh worked hard on his application because he was determined to carry on the family tradition.

“My parents went to BYU. My grandparents went to BYU. My whole family went to BYU. So, they helped me out. They helped with what to write in my essays that would help me get in,” said Josh.

Josh’s hard work paid off. Not only did he get into BYU’s main campus in Utah, but he got a full ride, too. Josh earned the Heritage scholarship. According to BYU, this full￾tuition scholarship is awarded to students who honor the “intellectual, spiritual, and cultural heritage of the Church and the university.”

“I got good grades taking hard classes, and I did well on the SAT, but I think what really helped my application were my essays. Because I know a lot about BYU, I was able to tailor my essays to the school. I wrote about who I am and what I can bring to BYU, and I think that really helped,” said Josh.

Josh’s journey is unique because he will be serving a two-year mission in Anaheim, California before attending BYU. After training in Utah City for a few weeks, Josh will head to Anaheim to share his religion.

“I’ve been pretty blessed with my life and my circumstances. I’ve got a healthy body, and I’ve got a great family. God gave me that, and that means a lot to me, so I want to give back to him. This mission is the way I can do that,” Josh said.

Josh says he is most looking forward to being in a different environment with different people on his mission. Experiencing something different from Maryland is the reason why Josh knew he wanted to go out of state for college.

“I’m most looking forward to the mountains, skiing, and appreciating nature in Utah,” he said. “BYU is in a city, but you drive 10 minutes and you’re in the middle of nowhere. I think that’ll be sweet.”

Rina Mustefa, University of Notre Dame, 605 miles from Wilde Lake

Rina Mustefa took a different route from most when applying to colleges, and her path lead her to the University of

Notre Dame in Indiana.

Rina applied to college through Questbridge, a nonprofit organization that connects high-achieving low-income students to colleges on a full-ride scholarship.

Rina says knowing her college expenses are covered for the next four years is a relief. “I feel so good. I feel so happy. It feels like a major relief that I don’t have to pay anything or take out loans,” she said.

Still, Rina experiences some worry about her college journey because of Notre Dame’s typical demographic. “It’s not a very diverse school. I’m really worried about how I am going to be able to fit in there as a Muslim girl since it’s a majority white Catholic institution,” she said.

Knowing Notre Dame’s demographic didn’t deter Rina from applying. Before being accepted to Notre Dame, Rina was accepted as a Questbridge National College Match finalist, which meant she got to rank 15 schools and if she was accepted to one of these schools, she would receive a full-ride scholarship.

When Rina was ranking schools, she did not add any colleges close to Maryland on her list because she knew she wanted to go far from home for college.

Notre Dame’s distance from home moved the school up on Rina’s list. In December, Rina was accepted to Notre Dame through Questbridge with a full-ride. She says it was one of her top choices.

“Notre Dame was one of my top threechoices because of their research program and networking,” she said.