The end of high school can be seen as a pitchfork in the road, with many paths to choose from, many are unsure which to take.

As the end of the year approaches many Seniors are increasingly pressured to plan out their lives after high school. The conventional way of thinking is to go to a 4-year college after high school, get a degree, and begin your career. Although most students are given this advice from a young age, many are still contemplating their paths after high school. Some options after high school include the following: 2-year college, 4-year college, trade school, enlisting into the military, or working. Each of those options also includes various categories to choose from such as different types of majors or different types of the military (army, navy, marines, airforce). All of this adds to the stress that senior students experience. The seniors here at Morton took a recent survey we gave them asking if they had a plan after graduation and to our surprise, 100% of them actually said yes. According to the survey they took 44% of students said they were going to college or uni, 28% said work, and 28% said trade school.

Just like our data, Mr. Smith over at the college and career center does this with the seniors at the end of the school year.

“The purpose of this survey is to collect data related to the post-high school plans of our seniors. Data collected includes the percentage of students going to college, enrolling in a trade school or apprenticeship program, enlisting in the military, or working/volunteering full-time. This includes specific names of training programs (college names, military branches, places of employment, etc.). We also collect information on what colleges our students applied to overall, where they were accepted, and how much scholarship money our seniors were offered,” Ryan Smith, a counselor at the college and career center, said.

While we ask similar questions we did get different responses from seniors last year compared to this year.

“For the Class of 2022, 34% of seniors who responded to our senior exit survey said they planned to attend a two-year community college. 36% reported that they planned to attend a four-year university. That is a total of 70% of students who planned to attend college after graduating from Morton East last year,” Mr. Smith told us.

With this comparison, we can see that the majority of people still want to go and get into college but we can also see a loss as well. Our survey counted 44% of seniors to college Mr. Smith had 70% of seniors going to college.

“I’m planning on majoring in Biology with a Pre Medical undergraduate degree,” says Yarely Garcia, a senior at Morton West.

Though the College and Career center seems to be a vital resource for all students here at Morton East. There are other pillars of support that surround students.

“My teachers have been really helpful to push me into the right detection. My parents have been a big help in supporting all my decisions,” states Morton East senior Emily Lazcano.

Whether you are getting help from the college and career center, friends and family, and even teachers, we hope that all of you have a great future and make the most of your life.