The 2026, May 1st “Decision Day” deadline is fast approaching. Every year around this time students are either breathing a sigh of relief because they are committed to their college or feeling the pressure of making the decision. For some seniors, the college application process means months of essays, deadlines, and uncertainty. For others, their path is more direct, but no matter the route, GRHS senior students are finalizing this chapter of their lives and moving onto the next.
While some students spent the fall anxiously checking their “CommonApp” portal, senior Volleyball captain and Glen Echo Editor-in-Chief, Ella Torsiello, had already committed months earlier through volleyball recruitment. Recruited the summer before junior year, she verbally committed in January of her junior year.
“I knew where I was going for months,” she explained. “I only really had one place to apply for.”
Torsiello plans to major in sports management, minor in writing and communications studies, and continue her volleyball career at Drew University. She emphasized how her decision really came down to the school environment and the relationship she had built with her future coach.
“I mainly picked it [Drew] because of her,” she said. “The campus is very fall, Gilmore Girls vibe.”
For future NYU student, Belen Bullrich Alonso, however, the process looked much different. Applying through Early Decision, she narrowed her choices after touring multiple colleges and considering what felt right for her academically and socially.
“There were other schools I could definitely see myself at,” Bullrich began. “It was really just considering what was the right fit for me.”
She plans to major in English and possibly minor in History. Bullrich did warn about how she didn’t initially like the campus after a less than fortunate tour for her first visit. A second time around completely changed her perspective on the school.
“The location of it, I love the city,” she said. “NYU is in the middle of everything.”
For myself, my commitment process was smooth sailing right until the end. I applied to nine schools through early action and eventually decided on the University of Delaware. I fell in love with the campus after my first visit and was ecstatic to be attending.
However, my intended major when applying to schools was Journalism, which this specific university didn’t offer. I planned to go the route of communications and minor in journalism but with my acceptance I was deferred to the English program. At first, I was okay with this new route but after a month and a half of mulling over my future, I decided this wasn’t the right plan for me.
When my mom suggested I visit Seton Hall, the university I will be attending in the fall, I didn’t expect much, but one tour fully convinced me that I would be perfectly happy at the school while studying what I originally intended for myself.
Other factors such as diversity, money, and proximity to home also influenced my decision. In the end, I had to be okay with accepting change and admitting to myself that my original choice may have been wrong and that was okay because I would be much happier at Seton Hall.
All 4 students agreed that the process came with challenges, especially when it came to recommendation letters and filling out the supplemental essays. Still, they encourage upcoming students to let themselves feel excited about the experience.
“The whole reason you apply is because you’re excited to go somewhere,” Bullrich emphasized.
As graduation approaches, seniors continue to prepare for new beginnings, whether that means moving into dorms, meeting roommates, or just navigating their new, adult life after high school. Even though every journey looks different, each decision is shaped by the years of hard work finally turning into a reality.
