As senior year kicks off, so do the numerous senior traditions and preparations for the future. The pressure of college applications piles up as the deadlines creep closer with each day. Although it all seems so exciting the numerous fees and constant spending money appear to be never-ending. 

Throughout the many senior year traditions, they all have one thing in common. Money. From painting your parking lot to homecoming mums to prom dinner, clothes and tickets, being a highschool student is more expensive than ever. Seniors are pressured into doing all these things with the familiar phrase “ It’s your last year, you should do it.” from peers or family members. The people who can’t afford these things whilst having to pay other fees or save up for college are forced to sit out of all the supposedly fun traditions. 

College is expensive wherever you go with having to pay for tuition, room and board, textbooks, transportation and more. Additionally, applying to colleges also has fees. If extra money is needed a person can apply for scholarships which almost all the time also have fees. If someone wants to retake the SAT or ACT to improve scores and help their chances of getting scholarships they have to pay testing fees as well. Almost everything in the application process has fees and almost none of those fees are an easy $10. 

There are so many different options if everything is piling up too fast and the burden of financial issues is weighing down the final year of high school. Taking a gap year to save money for college the next year is a great option even if it’s not advertised at school. Another good option is going to school at Austin Community College, tuition is completely free for this year’s graduates and provides many different classes that lead to different career paths. There is nothing wrong with not going immediately to a university after you graduate and can be very beneficial to some.