Ajani Salvary was going through the college admissions process last year. He applied to many universities, many out of state, hoping to be admitted to as many as possible. With his future in the balance, Salvary believes whether he got accepted to a school or not revolved around one variable: luck.

“The college admissions process revolves mostly around luck, one must think of it as playing the lottery,” said Salvary. “There are things that can increase your chances such as high GPA and good essays but no matter what you’re not guaranteed to go anywhere.”

The admission process is a four-year long development. It’s based on your high school career and has many factors, from test scores to GPA to extracurricular involvement.

David Graves, interim director of admissions at The University of Georgia, said students should begin thinking about college as soon as they enter high school. Going from being a tiny middle schooler to a big high schooler who has to start worrying about their future is a big development, especially for someone who’s 14-15 years old. 

“The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery,” wrote Graves on the UGA Admissions blog. 

Another huge factor is your outside activities from school, whether you do a sport, debate, National Honors Society. However, this can be a lot for a teeanger balancing course load, extracurriculars and their social life. “Colleges want to look at your extracurriculars so they can know you can handle something full time and turn in your work on time,” says Zoi Bascon, a rising senior at Redan High School in Georgia.

SAT/ACT preparation is one of the stressful things a high schooler can study for and it starts as early as middle school. Over time these tests have lost relevance for some universities, and while they’re still important, lots of colleges are integrating to test optional.  According to the Fair tests website, there are 1,843 colleges that are now test optional. 

“While it is admirable for students to receive stellar scores on these exams, we are going to understand that four years of hard work in a classroom tells us more than four hours spent taking a given exam on a Saturday,” says Joshua A. Williams, the admissions officer for access and inclusion at the University of Georgia.

Juggling having a social life and preparing for college during high school is going to be difficult, no matter what changes throughout the years. Graves said that not all college applications are equal, and it’s important for students to take that into consideration.“When dealing with college admissions, my key suggestion is to look at what the admissions office says they value in their review, and focus on that information in your understanding of decisions,” he wrote. “In addition, look at the overall picture of the admissions situation for the individual college and that specific year, as the applicant pool changes every year.”

 Chicago is  the hometown of professor, journalist, and family man Joe dennis, who says he has no regrets in life.

“I really think that everything that’s happened has happened for a reason, I’m a big believer in that. I usually try to treat people with respect.”

Joe Dennis is 46- years old from the southside of Chicago. He has an extensive background in journalism and radio. He worked at WPUP-FEM in Athens, Georgia, for seven years. Dennis had his own show on the station “The Big Rock show”. His current passion is teaching journalism.

“My students should know not to mess with AP style. And now they know the consequences.” He once tweeted. 

 Dennis first worked at the Walton tribune in Monroe, Georgia. Fast forward 20 years, he’s the director of the mass communications department at Piedmont University  and works at the University of Georgia as an adjunct instructor.

“Bruno mars is Filipino and wears fedoras, I’m Filipino, I could wear fedoras.”

He has three sons and a wife, Carla Dennis. “Thats what it’s all about” he wrote  on his personal website.

Joe Dennis has had a life with many careers such as journalism, a photographer, a radio show, and plenty others. But now, he’s finally found his home at Piedmont University. That’s true peace, and teaching future generations of Journalists.

 Chicago is  the hometown of professor, journalist, and family man Joe dennis, who says he has no regrets in life.

“I really think that everything that’s happened has happened for a reason, I’m a big believer in that. I usually try to treat people with respect.”

Joe Dennis is 46- years old from the southside of Chicago. He has an extensive background in journalism and radio. He worked at WPUP-FEM in Athens, Georgia, for seven years. Dennis had his own show on the station “The Big Rock show”. His current passion is teaching journalism.

“My students should know not to mess with AP style. And now they know the consequences.” He once tweeted. 

 Dennis first worked at the Walton tribune in Monroe, Georgia. Fast forward 20 years, he’s the director of the mass communications department at Piedmont University  and works at the University of Georgia as an adjunct instructor.

“Bruno mars is Filipino and wears fedoras, I’m Filipino, I could wear fedoras.”

He has three sons and a wife, Carla Dennis. “Thats what it’s all about” he wrote  on his personal website.

Joe Dennis has had a life with many careers such as journalism, a photographer, a radio show, and plenty others. But now, he’s finally found his home at Piedmont University. That’s true peace, and teaching future generations of Journalists.

 Chicago is  the hometown of professor, journalist, and family man Joe dennis, who says he has no regrets in life.

“I really think that everything that’s happened has happened for a reason, I’m a big believer in that. I usually try to treat people with respect.”

Joe Dennis is 46- years old from the southside of Chicago. He has an extensive background in journalism and radio. He worked at WPUP-FEM in Athens, Georgia, for seven years. Dennis had his own show on the station “The Big Rock show”. His current passion is teaching journalism.

“My students should know not to mess with AP style. And now they know the consequences.” He once tweeted. 

 Dennis first worked at the Walton tribune in Monroe, Georgia. Fast forward 20 years, he’s the director of the mass communications department at Piedmont University  and works at the University of Georgia as an adjunct instructor.

“Bruno mars is Filipino and wears fedoras, I’m Filipino, I could wear fedoras.”

He has three sons and a wife, Carla Dennis. “Thats what it’s all about” he wrote  on his personal website.

Joe Dennis has had a life with many careers such as journalism, a photographer, a radio show, and plenty others. But now, he’s finally found his home at Piedmont University. That’s true peace, and teaching future generations of Journalists.

 Chicago is  the hometown of professor, journalist, and family man Joe dennis, who says he has no regrets in life.

“I really think that everything that’s happened has happened for a reason, I’m a big believer in that. I usually try to treat people with respect.”

Joe Dennis is 46- years old from the southside of Chicago. He has an extensive background in journalism and radio. He worked at WPUP-FEM in Athens, Georgia, for seven years. Dennis had his own show on the station “The Big Rock show”. His current passion is teaching journalism.

“My students should know not to mess with AP style. And now they know the consequences.” He once tweeted. 

 Dennis first worked at the Walton tribune in Monroe, Georgia. Fast forward 20 years, he’s the director of the mass communications department at Piedmont University  and works at the University of Georgia as an adjunct instructor.

“Bruno mars is Filipino and wears fedoras, I’m Filipino, I could wear fedoras.”

He has three sons and a wife, Carla Dennis. “Thats what it’s all about” he wrote  on his personal website.

Joe Dennis has had a life with many careers such as journalism, a photographer, a radio show, and plenty others. But now, he’s finally found his home at Piedmont University. That’s true peace, and teaching future generations of Journalists.

Hi, I’m Naima Salvary, but my close friends call me Nai. I’m from Birmingham, Alabama. I go to the Alabama School of Fine Arts, I’m 14, and I’m an incoming freshman. At my school I’m a creative writing major but I wanted to explore different writing styles. Something interesting about myself that I like to tell people is that I’m a extremely picky eater. It’s not that exciting, but it’s something everyone around me notices sooner or later.

I don’t have much experience in journalism yet, but in this incoming school school year I plan to take the journalism and yearbook courses my school offers. I’m very interested in opinion pieces and entertainment. This past school year I had to do alot of research for papers and cite my sources which has also peaked my interest in Journalism.

Having a voice, and spreading awareness about topics is very important to me, and I feel like journalism is the perfect way to express that. Since I was little I’ve always been about speaking up and standing up for things that are important to me. I’ve always thought journalism is a great tool to inform and bring attention to important causes.

Writing in general has always been a huge part of my life and is probably the thing closest to me. Discovering different styles of writing such as journalism is important to me. I want to be able to find my voice.