As the end of the school year approaches, seniors begin to feel the inevitability of change in their lives. The transition to college is much more daunting than the one students face when entering Pingree; moving away from home and discovering a new form of independence poses unfamiliar challenges and opportunities, and it can be difficult to know if one is ever truly “prepared” to leave the safety of high school and enter the college world. 

As seniors get ready to say goodbye to Pingree, I asked them to reflect on how they feel about the transition to college and explain how they think Pingree has prepared for the next step, both academically and socially. 

Some may be thrilled about the opportunity to live on their own, while others may dread the day when they must pack up and leave their childhood bedrooms for a college dormitory. This time in seniors’ lives offers boundless opportunities, but do seniors feel that Pingree has helped get them ready to step into an unsheltered, unstructured, and unfamiliar environment?

Students were asked which aspects of college they felt unprepared for and which aspects Pingree had helped them feel ready for. Their responses can be categorized into feelings of social preparedness and academic preparedness. Five students shared that they felt Pingree had properly prepared them academically, although in different ways. Some feel as though they were able to develop strong study habits, while others feel ready to use more specific skills. 

Pingree’s history and English classes seem to have succeeded in pushing students to strengthen their writing and critical thinking, skills that students will use throughout their lives. Senior Andrew Evangelista explained that Pingree very adequately prepared him for future writing assignments as well as debate and discussion skills. Alissa Brengola, a future neuroscience major who is slightly more concerned about the increased difficulty in STEM courses, shares this feeling of preparedness for writing. Seniors Charlie Falk, Cole Perkin, and Wylie Glorieux shared that they feel Pingree has prepared them more for their social lives than their future workload. 

Meeting new people and branching out can be uncomfortable for many, especially coming from a community as small and connected as Pingree. However, half of the seniors interviewed described that they feel ready to thrive in an environment filled with unfamiliar faces. Pingree’s encouragement to embrace new experiences has helped develop students’ confidence and ability to step out of their comfort zones, something that they look forward to doing in college. 

The seniors interviewed were asked what they were most excited about and most nervous about for the transition to college. The most common threads were meeting new people, living in a new area, and managing a new type of course load. Making friends and “finding your people” is perhaps one of the most terrifying and exciting possibilities that college offers incoming students. Four students said they were excited to meet new people, and three said they were nervous about it. 

While there is so much fear in the unknown of who we will meet, whether we will get along with roommates, or how difficult it will be to feel comfortable in new friend groups, there is also so much excitement about the future connections we will make. Many people keep their college friends for life, and in colleges with thousands of students, it is inevitable that everyone will find their group. 

A few students mentioned their feelings about going to school in a completely new location, and senior Kasey Schena shared her excitement about living in Colorado, somewhere she hopes to live in the future, and how it will allow her to explore new hobbies. Kate Littlehale also shared that she looks forward to exploring a new area. However, being in a college environment also means living in close quarters and learning to take care of yourself, which many of our interviewees are concerned about. 

Although many seniors felt Pingree had prepared them academically, some aspects of a college classroom structure are intimidating. Students are concerned about taking harder classes and not doing as well academically as they have throughout Pingree. Using the study skills, resources, and education received at Pingree will be invaluable in navigating the academic transition. College often allows for students to have much more freedom and less structure, so staying organized and in a constant routine will be necessary. 

It is crucial that future college students understand how common and universal their feelings are. There are reasons to be excited about college and reasons to be nervous, and the less time that seniors spend dwelling on the thought of the worst-case scenario, the better prepared they will be to begin their independence. 

The final question posed to seniors was, “If you could look one year into the future and find out one thing about your college life, what would you want to know?” This question was the only one that generated eight unique responses. Andrew shared that he would want to know all the basics of life at his college, to avoid dealing with an unfamiliar campus and not knowing where things and events are. Charlie would want to check in on his mental health, while Cole would want to know his first pledge task. Alissa is curious about whether or not she likes her major, and Wylie wants to know how his relationship with his roommate is. Juju Manzi would want to be able to give herself advice about workload and living, while Kasey wants some insight into who her roommate is and what is generally happening around her campus.

The same sense of anticipation fills Pingree’s upper commons each year as graduation gets closer. The unknown is both terrifying and wonderful. It often forces us to view the future anxiously, but our lives would be boring if we truly could look a year into the future and know what was ahead. While there are many reasons to be nervous about the start of the next school year, Pingree’s senior class appears to feel ready, and views the unknown as an exciting opportunity that we will all make the most of.