With the first semester of this year coming to a close, seniors are feeling the pressure to get all of their applications in. Although there are many seniors who do not know where they want to go to college, some seniors knew long before this year. Leigh McBride, for instance, started touring colleges her sophomore year.

“OU was not even on my radar until I went to a football game,” McBride said. The huge stadium, the atmosphere of the student section, and the band were all what made Leigh fall in love, “By fall of my junior year, I knew that was the place I wanted to be.”

From there, Leigh was able to get in touch with other future Sooner students. She attended a dinner in Dallas called OU day. She went to a hotel with other kids who had also been accepted into OU and got to meet other people that are going to be in her class.

“I have networked with so many people so far, so I already feel really plugged in,” she said. “I have also gotten to meet upperclassman through the program. It is such a cool opportunity.”

Bailey Gutierrez feels similarly. She toured multiple schools such as Baylor, Texas Tech, A&M, and UT. In the end, she decided on the latter.

“I realized I am going to need a pretty city if I’m going to go to college,” Gutierrez said. “Plus, I look pretty good in burnt orange.”

Touring schools with her best friends Devaki and Taylor helped her make her decision.

“We all went and toured UT together and really liked it so we thought, ‘what if we all went here together?’, and we decided we liked it enough for that.”

Although Gutierrez has automatic acceptance into most colleges because of her grade point average, she said that UT is the only college she wants to go to, therefore it’s the only one she has applied to.

So, what do students do if they are not as lucky as Leigh and Bailey to find their dream school early on?

College and Career Counselor Julie Johnson says, “There are lots of ways to find the right school for you. College Board has a website called “Big Future” where you can type in any college you want and explore lots of different things about the college. Then it will direct you to that college website.”

It is a common misconception that preparation for college begins senior year. According to College Readiness Counselor Carlos Rios, it all begins freshman year. Rios encourages freshmen to start thinking about what school they want to go to. From there, sophomore and junior year should be reserved for working to get into that dream school as if that student were going to be attending.

“You don’t have to know what college you want to go to, because often seniors don’t even know where they want to go, but preparing for college starts the day you walk into high school,” Rios said.

McBride and Gutierrez are prime examples of how working hard through all four years of high school can get you into the school of your dreams. Now that McBride has found the school for her, she has one piece of advice for those not at that point yet.

“Definitely apply in the summer before you go to school and when you know a college,” she said. “Even if it seems impossible to get in, if it’s for you, go with your gut.”