As seniors quickly come to a final decision on where they will be attending their next four years of school, many trends have been seen in where their final decision takes them. Holy Trinity seniors have always been advised to keep an open mind when it comes to picking their college decisions, but what comes to mind when making these big decisions?

In the last 5-10 years Auburn University has been one of the most popular college decisions for Holy Trinity students. However, recently there have been shifts in where seniors have decided to go. 

For the class of 2024, the most popular decision has been the University of South Florida, along with the University of Tampa, and other state schools. In the last two years, the University of Tampa has become a very popular spot for HT seniors. 

“USF was very economical for me,” senior Will Whipple said. “I love the location of Tampa and being so close to Clearwater, and a lot of close friends go there and are going there.”

Senior Kripa Patel picked USF because of the area around it. 

“I applied to a lot of big city colleges, but something I loved about USF was that it’s in a not-so-big city, but still has that urban city feel,” Patel said.

The Tampa area has become quite popular with HT students in the last few years. Although not the most common pick for the class of 2024, the University of Tampa is still a hot spot for students. 

“I wanted to go to the University of Tampa because when I toured there, it felt like a school I would truly thrive at and the environment felt very welcoming,” senior Wyatt Chanda said.  

Students also like the idea of being far enough away from home, but not too far. 

“Location is really important because it gives me the space I need from home as well as being close enough to where I can visit,” senior Cole Chanda said. 

Although a lot of students are attending the popular USF and the University of Tampa, many are also attending Florida State University, which has always been a popular choice. 

“FSU was really the only school that felt like home to me and it’s where I saw myself being able to live,” senior Katrina Blanco said. “Staying in Florida was important to me, but it did not matter to me where in Florida. FSU has such a gorgeous campus and the vibes I got from the tour just solidified that I wanted to go there and be a Nole.”

Price has also become a larger factor in where students decide where they want to go. 

“A lot of students want to stay in Florida and a big reason for that is price,” Director of College and Academic Advising Stacy Reeder said. “The economy is really affecting people.” 

Other reasons come down to the amount of students applying to each school.

“The state schools have gotten so competitive that more people are looking out of state and at private schools,” Reeder said. “You should not apply to any school you would not want to go to.” 

However, after the price and closeness to home that many want when attending college, many students still choose to go out of state for their next four years. 

“I chose Auburn because a lot of my family went there and I liked the campus’s southern atmosphere,” senior Andrew Hale said.

“I chose the University of Alabama because over the course of the last three years, I’ve gotten to know the school very well and I’ve fallen in love with the campus environment,” senior Kendall Johnson said. “Bama has great academics, athletics, and Greek life and there’s truly no other like it.”

Like always, athletics is a drive to where students decide to attend. 

“Most of the students at Wheeling are playing sports, so it drew me there because we all have the same mindset of playing at the next level,” senior Andrew Turner said.

While as in the past, there are always some unique choices as to where our seniors spend their next four years. 

“I’m going to LIM College because of their style of personalized learning and the location,” senior Molly Mullen said. “Since New York City is one of the fashion capitals of the world, LIM College has amazing connections within the industry and builds internships into their curriculum, which is super helpful to get hands-on experience and to make your own connections throughout the industry.”