Jonathan Hughes: [00:00:00] Do you find it really helpful to visit ?

Belle: Oh, comes in and talk to students, see dorms. Like I could see exactly what. I liked and I always try to like not fit in, but I always try to make myself feel like a college student that day. So like I’d get up and I’d make myself already. I’d get a coffee in the morning to see what it would be like if I like woke up on campus.

Jonathan Hughes: Hi everyone and welcome to the MEFA Podcast. My name is Jonathan Hughes, and you just heard from one of our guests on the show today. Her name is Bell Almeida and she is a senior. At New Bedford High, as are all of our student guests on the show today. So this is one of these shows that we try to do at least once a year.

That is one where we talk to seniors in high school who are going through the college application process and [00:01:00] financial aid application process, and we see what their experience is. And so these are always great shows because you always learn so much from people who are actually going through, which you’ve only been talking about hypothetically or in general, so without actually hearing from parents or students, particularly students, we can really only take an educated guess as to what people are encountering and what their needs are. So if you’re a senior in high school or a junior in high school, or the parent of a senior or junior in high school.

Then I think you’ll get a lot out of this show knowing where these students are, what their thoughts are, what their concerns are and their preferences. Maybe they’re operating from the same concern as you are about living far away or taking on too much debt. And you can see your concerns validated.

Or maybe you shouldn’t be worried about changing a major late in your college search because you can see that these students have done that too. Anyway, I want to get on with the show. We recorded this back in [00:02:00] early November or late October. And while the financial aid season moves fast, I know that there are still people that are in the throes of it. So we met Belle at the beginning of the show. Now let’s meet the rest of our guests.

Shayla: I’m Shayla. I go to New Bedford High and I graduate 2026.

I’m Fredrica and I’m a student here at New Bedford High.

Jonathan Hughes: And what year are you here?

Shayla: I’m a senior.

Abigail: I’m Abigail. I am a senior and I go to New Bedford High.

Delani: My name is Delani. I’m 18 and I’m graduating this year, 2026. I’m a senior.

Maddie: Alright. My name is Maddie. I am a senior here at New Bedford High School. I’m 17 and that’s my introduction.

Jonathan Hughes: You senior this year. So are you getting ready to go to college and do your college application system?

Frederica: Yes, I’m really excited. I’ve always wanted to go to college. It’s been a thing, like I’ve seen everyone around me go to college, so it’s like I need to go to college and I’m really excited to start. [00:03:00]

Jonathan Hughes: Are you planning on going to college next year?

Maddie: Yes.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay. This is your senior year, so you’ll be looking at colleges, applying to colleges, where are you right now in that process?

Abigail: So far I’ve applied to UMass Amherst.

Frederica: I started late this year, so I started late September and then I realized I needed to do early action for some colleges. So I was like, let me get on this.

Jonathan Hughes: So where are you right now in, in the process?

Belle: So I’m actually doing most of my applications. I’m like, I’m applying regular decision to pretty much every school I’m applying. Early action at two schools. So Tufts in Boston and Northeastern.

Maddie: So I already did my personal statement in August and I tried to fill out most of my common app as soon as it opened. So I’d be done. Okay, so now I’m doing is finalizing which colleges I want to apply to early action right now.

Shayla: So I just submitted my first application and it was for Lowell ’cause I got direct admission.

Jonathan Hughes: Oh, very good. That’s [00:04:00] exciting. What is direct admission?

Shayla: I’m not completely sure, but I’m pretty sure you just apply and you’re in that school. Once they notify you. Yeah. And you have to, you don’t have to do a letter of recommendation or extra things, it’s just you apply and you’re in. So I got notified through the comment app because people send, schools send offers through there.

Jonathan Hughes: And were you surprised?

Shayla: Yeah. I have 93 offers around like the US and I was like. Whoa.

Jonathan Hughes: Does that mean you’ve been admitted to 93 schools if you choose to apply there? Yeah. Wow, that’s, I just looked at the camera. I know, but wow. Congratulations.

Shayla: Thank you.

Jonathan Hughes: How many schools. Are you thinking that you will apply in a traditional way too?

Delani: I want to apply to six schools, so I’ve already applied to two schools early action. Okay. And I’ve gotten back from them, which both I got accepted in.

Jonathan Hughes: Oh, congratulations.

Delani: Offered scholarships.

Jonathan Hughes: So how many colleges in total?

Maddie: Right now I think I have 10. 10 or 11. Okay. To do and two or three early action. [00:05:00] Yeah. Okay.

Jonathan Hughes: Any early decisions.

Maddie: No.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay. Okay.

Maddie: I don’t want to be bound. Yeah.

Jonathan Hughes: So when did you start your search then for colleges?

Abigail: I started, actually sixth grade. I wanted to go to UMass Amherst because they had an as astronomy program, and I love the stars and space and science. I looked up colleges in Massachusetts that have an astronomy program. And UMass Amherst came up first.

Jonathan Hughes: How did you start your search? Did you go to like college fairs? Did you look online?

Frederica: So I did look online and I went to some college fairs that were offered here at New Bedford High and the ones that were offered around the city.

Belle: I play softball like I do, I play, it’s like school softball so I’ve been looking at colleges for a while ’cause I was getting recruited by a couple D3s, like around here. I’ve been searching since like late sophomore year, early junior year. So I definitely started early the application process. I feel like I started pretty late though. Because I was [00:06:00] pretty set on a school I was going to go to and I was verbally committed for the sport and then I couldn’t make it work out financially, so I was late to looking at other colleges. We’re pretty much done with my competition process.

Maddie: So I’m actually in early college program.

Jonathan Hughes: Oh, you are?

Maddie: Yeah. So we started junior year and we have one goal. It starts the college process. So it’s talking. We have to talk about our values and aspirations, do like career quit like surveys. To figure out what you want to get into. And then we started looking for colleges there. But I mostly just search up like. Colleges in my area ’cause I don’t want to go too far that have the program that I’m interested in. And then I just go from there and I decide what options I have based on things like area, how big the college is. ’cause I don’t like big class sizes. Especially tuition and financial aid options.

I look at that. Yeah. I honestly started looking like sophomore year. And like attending all these ’cause they have college reps come in and do meets and stuff. So I started looking then, [00:07:00] but I did change. What I wanted to major in because originally I wanted to do something with either fashion merchandising or something.

Something business related. But then I switched to the bio pre optometry program. So for the major right now, I started looking, pretty recently.

Jonathan Hughes: Could you talk a little bit about early college? What is it and like what is it for you? What does that mean for your day to day like?

Maddie: So the early college program here, it’s part of it is the one goal aspect helping us get ready for college. The other part is we do. Like a dual enrollment with UMass Dartmouth. Okay. So for junior year, the first semester you only do one college course, and it’s like an intro course.

And then you do two more courses the second semester, and then in senior year you do two courses each, but there’s also different cohorts with, there’s one with Bridgewater. And then there’s one with B, C, C. And do you actually go attend college courses there? The, I know the BCC cohort does go, I think.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, they actually go to the campus. But for the UMass Dartmouth cohort, [00:08:00] our professors come here. It’s a really good experience, honestly, like getting used to like college, like curriculums and assignments and, ’cause I high school, most high school classes are more like lenient.

And so this kind of is like a gradual transition to getting used to more strict- strict, like assignment dates, due dates, all that. So yeah.

Jonathan Hughes: What would land a school on your list? What’s important to you? What appeals to you from a school person?

Shayla: So what’s important to me is that it’s in the city. I definitely want to go to Boston for college. So I started my search because I knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer. I started my search through college board. They have a search website and it’ll, if you put in your major and the location, it’ll show you colleges in that area.

Frederica: So when I’m looking at colleges, I obviously look, if they have my major, I look at their education, but I also look at like their like quality of life, like the social life because you can get a really good education at like most colleges, but like community is what matters. If you don’t feel like [00:09:00] you want to be at school every day, then you’re not going to be at school every day.

Belle: I really wanted to be in a school that had some trees. I had greenery. I also wanted to be like, I knew I wanted to be in a city because I love Boston, I love Providence. That’s my thing, but. I knew I didn’t want that big of a school, ’cause I like to have a one-on-one relationship with my professors. So I knew I did a lot more than like God’s 30 to one class size.

Delani: I, one of the things that I want to do is I want to be able to live on campus, but I don’t want to be super far. But I also don’t want to be super close. So just the things that I want in my college experience are very niche. And like very specific. So it can be hard looking for colleges like that.

Maddie: I like a ratio of students to faculty to be low. So 12 to one. I want it to be pretty close to I want to remain probably in Massachusetts or like neighboring, maybe Rhode Island. But I want to stay close just in case of emergency. I can drive back, but I would be okay with dorming. Depending on the cost. Because some of these dorming, the housing fees are really expensive. But, so I’m looking [00:10:00] for colleges close enough that I could commute, so that definitely raises them up on my list. If they’re close enough.

Abigail: I want to a live at home. Okay. It’s cheaper. And I don’t really. I don’t trust myself to live by myself.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay.

Frederica: I do Massachusetts, but I do want to get out of Massachusetts to see around like the United States. But I’m also realizing I love. I love Massachusetts. This is a very privileged state. So I’m looking at some colleges in Massachusetts, but I’m also looking at a lot of HBCUs. Because I do go to a very diverse school here. I would say. I want to go out and I want to meet different cultures, so I think HBCUs would provide that for me.

Jonathan Hughes: What are your top colleges?

Frederica: Right now I have Howard University. I have Northeastern University and I have North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University.

Jonathan Hughes: And so what schools then piqued your interest?

Abigail: UMass Boston. Bridgewater State.

Jonathan Hughes: So what are your top schools?

Belle: Tufts, Northeastern. I’m going to see BC this week. I’m, I love [00:11:00] Springfield. I’m working at Wheaton, so my mom went there and I talked to a softball coach, so that was also one of my options.

Delani: The specific college that I chose is Gordon College. That I want to choose is Gordon College and they have very unique qualities. They are a private school. And are a Christian based organization which aligned very much with my values.

Shayla: Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the top.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay.

Shayla: Yeah. Northeastern is underneath that. Wentworth Institute of Technology. There’s also Boston University, UMass Dartmouth, and UMass Lowell.

Jonathan Hughes: Are you applying early to any of those schools or no?

Shayla: I’m applying early to all of the schools.

Jonathan Hughes: Early action.

Shayla: Yes.

Jonathan Hughes: All right.

Shayla: Except Boston University. ’cause they don’t do early action.

Jonathan Hughes: So for early action how many in total?

Frederica: In total? I think I have 10 in total so far on my list. I know that list will probably grow as I look at more colleges.

Jonathan Hughes: How many schools total are you applying to?

Belle: 15.

Jonathan Hughes: So you mentioned a major earlier. What do you want to major in?

Frederica: I am planning on majoring in sociology and [00:12:00] minoring in political science. I’ve been very civically involved since I was young. Like my mom took me to community meetings and everything like about that. So I felt like. Like my life led me on this road, and I enjoy advocating and helping others.

Maddie: I know I want to apply to colleges that have a pre optometry program. That’s what I’m hoping to major in.

Abigail: I want to do theater.

Jonathan Hughes: Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay.

Abigail: Theater or music doesn’t matter to me.

Jonathan Hughes: Okay. So you’re looking for colleges and you’re looking for theater or musical theater programs.

What was your major again?

Belle: Applied mathematics and my trying to do actuarial science.

Jonathan Hughes: Did you do your FAFSA now?

Belle: I did.

Jonathan Hughes: Have you filed your FAFSA yet?

Frederica: Yes. I was so late. I, someone told me it was opening, I think they told me it was opening like the end of October or the beginning of November. October 1st. Yeah, that was when I beginning October 1st.

So they told me it was going to open in October 1st. Then my friends are telling me that it opened a week earlier. Yes. So now I’m all the way behind and I’m like-

Jonathan Hughes: You’ve done your section of the FAFSA?

Shayla: Yeah.

Jonathan Hughes: And did you find that to be easy or?

Shayla: It was pretty quick. I thought it would be so much [00:13:00] longer and I finished it in two days.

Jonathan Hughes: Do you need to apply? Do you need to complete a CSS profile for any of the colleges.

Frederica: Yes. I’m going to do a CSS recently, this is why I love the college, the Gear Up program at my school, because I did not know about the CSS Oh. Thing that I had to fill out. But when I was going through it with one of the counselors here, she told me like, have you filled this out yet? And I was like, what is that?

Belle: Our college and career center is the best. So Jordan Pina helps me a lot with my applications, my common app in general. And then a teacher here, Maya Sylvia, is helping me with my essay ’cause I’m a very, I’m a math and science girl. Okay. I can’t, I’m not really good at writing about myself or anything like that, so she’s really helped me like form my thoughts into a essay and get everything going.

Jonathan Hughes: You’ve talked about Gear Up. And the counselors here, you’ve utilized them as like a resource any place else?

Frederica: I utilize my teachers because they’re not just teachers for certain subjects. You can go after school and a lot of them have they have experience with these things. They know like [00:14:00] what you need to do. So I go to them and I ask them questions. I also ask my cousins, ’cause they recently just, they’re freshmen and college

Delani: Definitely my guidance counselor. And being just in the early, the college career center talking to different people there they helped to like show me like the reality of things and the practical steps I need to take. ’cause I was, at the beginning of the year, I was like, okay, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this, like lock in, I’m going to get everything done. And she’s whoa. Calm down. We’re going to do it one step at a time. First thing, work on your essay. You know what I mean? And so I like that they’re there to support and like organize, my brain and, take one step at a time. Yeah. So that’s really helped. Yeah.

Shayla: So I’ve been meeting with Gear Up during my lunches at least once a week just to I started that junior year actually because I started my essay my junior year. So I was meeting with them to figure out what colleges would suit me, how to, what I should write about in my essay and things like that.

Maddie: Really only my [00:15:00] my guidance counselors the early college counselors and the teachers that facilitate the whole thing. Yeah. I’ve really been looking to them for advice and help researching.

I, I see. I use some programs. I know I use the one goal program. I also use like college board search engines. And I’ve used MEFA search engines too.

Jonathan Hughes: So cost then is a factor when you’re looking at colleges?

Abigail: Yeah.

Frederica: Yeah. I think I’m a little too optimistic with money. I think it’ll all be fine, but I know as I go throughout this year, I’m going to be looking at the money. But so far. My top colleges I’m considering, I might put money into them if it’s like my favorite colleges, if it’s my top colleges. But if I have to debate between the colleges that were further down my list, then I’m going to look at money and offers.

Jonathan Hughes: Meanwhile, I think that’s a good, it’s a good time to be optimistic Yeah. In those part. So be optimistic, apply to those colleges, see what you get. And so you’re an early college now that means you have some college credits, right?

Maddie: Yes. Okay. So did that. [00:16:00] Impact how you, like, how you looked for colleges, like where you can use these college credits and whatnot? Yeah. I’ve been mostly looking for colleges that will accept college credits because I know a lot of like private institutions may not accept transferable college credits or AP credits.

Because I also do AP courses. So that’s a main thing I’m looking for because the whole reason I wanted to do all these college and AP courses is so I can have the credit and spend less money in college.

Jonathan Hughes: So it’s the second time you mentioned college costs, so that, that plays into your thinking. When you’re looking at colleges.

Maddie: I don’t want to be in debt for too long. All these student loans are going to have to pay off.

Jonathan Hughes: Yeah.

Shayla: Cost is definitely something in like the back of my mind when I’m thinking of applying to schools. I’m sure I’ll get a lot of financial aid and I know some schools are offering me 23,000 every year just to attend. So it’s something in the back of my mind, but I’m mostly focused on. A campus I like and getting the education I need.

Jonathan Hughes: So what were the college visits like?

Delani: Amazing. I really, I just love [00:17:00] campus life, so it was so cool to see, especially the difference between MIT and Wentworth totally different size campuses.

One has lots of people, one has a little bit of people, and like it’s just all of the campuses look great and they look like a great place to go to school.

Jonathan Hughes: Did you have a good feeling when you visited?

Delani: Yeah. So I visited Gordon twice. One when there was no classes in session, and then another when there was, and it just made me realize that like it’s really the students that bring the life to a campus.

Belle: So I wanted to figure out exactly what size school I liked first and what like location, what type of school I wanted to. So I went to a lot of like diverse schools. So I went and I looked at. Bu so it was huge, right?

I went and looked at Suffolk, so very small inner city. I went and looked at pc, so it was like more of a medium private institution. I went and saw Roger Williams was a V coastal, and talk to students, see dorms, like I could see exactly [00:18:00] what I liked and I always try to like. Not fitting, but I always try to make myself feel like a college student that day. So like I’d get up and I’d make myself already. I’d get a coffee in the morning to see what it would be like if I like woke up on campus.

Jonathan Hughes: Have you done any college visits? To any campuses?

Maddie: Yes, I’ve done a couple I’ve obviously done UMass Bo not Boston, UMass Dartmouth. Tour with early college, but I have done tours with Bridgewater and also my sister goes to Bridgewater.

So I’ve had that experience. I went on tour for Regis and I have a couple more scheduled. I have one in Western New England University in Springfield. Oh, okay. So that’s going to be a bit of a drive. Yeah. But that’s this weekend. So I really like the campus tours. It really gives you an idea of. A student life there, and you can talk to a lot of people.

Jonathan Hughes: What has been the most stressful part of this process, and then what has been the most exciting part?

Delani: Okay, so the most stressful is definitely, the money. Thinking about the money and then getting things done on time. But I know I have a lot of time. But in my mind, I just want to get it [00:19:00] done over with.

Jonathan Hughes: Yeah.

Delani: So that’s been most stressful. The most exciting is like visiting different colleges, being on campus, getting to know what it’s like, and also seeing other students on campus. It’s oh my gosh, like soon I’ll be a college student.

Jonathan Hughes: What do you think was the most difficult or most stressful part?

Belle: The process of thought, definitely my essay as of right now and just like the financial aid thing. So I, schools are so expensive and I know that I’m going to get some academic merit, but I am, like, me personally, I’m not going to get much financial aid. So it’s like narrowing down a school that I know I’ll love, that’s also like economically like feasible for my family. So no, it’s difficult.

Jonathan Hughes: Do you think that has been the most challenging part of the application process? The essay?

Abigail: Yes. Yeah, because there are so many prompts on the common app that I didn’t know what to write about at first.

Maddie: I’ll start with the most stressful part. Yeah. Yeah. The most stressful part is when I’m researching a college that has or I hit a dead end when I’m researching colleges because.

A lot. All the other [00:20:00] aspects of the college are great, but there’s one deciding factor that makes me not want to do it. Whether that be location, cost, big one. Or if they don’t have the specific program I am interested in, the most exciting part is like finalizing everything, like getting everything done. Like the relief. Once I saw that bar on Common app, the green bar, it keep going up and as soon as it reached complete. Like the relief is crazy. Okay.

Shayla: Yeah. The most stressful part, I’d say is probably like deadlines or pacing yourself, because it’s definitely something, there’s so many parts and it’s quite unorganized and you have to be on top of it.

Jonathan Hughes: What do you think, if I were to ask you like, one emotion, what are you feeling about the next couple of months? Is it nervous? Is it excited? Is it optimistic? What is. It.

Frederica: I don’t think this is an emotion, but I think it’s just adrenaline. I’m not saying this word correctly. Adrenaline.

Yeah. So I’m feeling nervous and I’m [00:21:00] feeling excited. I think I’m feeling nervous because this is a whole new chapter of my life that I’m starting to open up, and it’s also like I’m ending my high school one. So it’s like I’m excited to meet all these new people, but I’m also sad that I’m going to leave all these people.

But it’s okay because all these opportunities are going to open up a great future. That’s what I’m hoping for.

Maddie: Then be like stress.

Jonathan Hughes: Stress. Okay.

Shayla: Because there’s just so many aspects Yeah. That are at play.

Abigail: It’s a mix of hope and fear. Okay. ’cause I don’t know what’s going to come next. But I’m excited to see what it holds.

Delani: Excited and ready to go.

Jonathan Hughes: Really?

Delani: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Shayla: Definitely excitement to like. Move on with my life. I’m starting a new chapter. It’s very exciting.

Belle: I’ve definitely been pretty anxious, especially with the unpredictability of colleges at this point. So I’m a very anxious person, so I’ve been a little nervous, but I’m also so excited ’cause it’s so much fun thinking about what I’m going to be doing the next couple years and like finding a place where it’s like a home for me. So the next couple years, so [00:22:00] I’m so excited.

Jonathan Hughes: All right folks. That was our show. A big thank you to all of the students who generously gave us their time, Belle, Frederica, Maddie, Abigail, Shayla, and Delani. And also a special thank you to Jennifer Pinal and the whole guidance team at New Bedford High who really helped us out. And of course for arranging this whole thing.

Our friend at MEFA Pathway, Jennifer Bento-Pinyon. Now, if anyone out there listening or watching the show liked what they heard, or liked what they saw, and they want to know more from us on planning, saving, and paying for college and career readiness. There are a couple of things you can do. You can follow the show and you can do that wherever you find your podcasts, and you can help the show by leaving us a review.

Now, before we go, I’d like to also thank our producer, Shaun Connolly. I’d like to thank Lauren Danz, Lisa Rooney, [00:23:00] Meredith Clement, Christina Davidson, and AJ Yee for their assistance in posting the show. Once again, my name is Jonathan Hughes, and this has been the MEFA Podcast.