MACON, Ga. — November is Georgia Apply to College month!
However, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, fewer kids are going directly from high school to college in recent years.
Some of Georgia's universities and technical colleges are waiving application fees for students, and the students at Southwest High School are taking advantage of it by getting a head start and applying to colleges early.
The goal is to provide all Georgia high school seniors with the opportunity to apply to college while assisting first-generation and underrepresented students.
Applying for colleges can be scary, but this week, these Southwest seniors are shaking off those nerves and starting their application process.
Southwest senior Jamaya Hodge said she wants to go into marine biology and plans to apply to as many colleges as she can, but she's also aware of how her fellow classmates are feeling during this time.
"It's a learning experience, it really is," Hodges said. "I feel like a lot of the time, students don't know how to make those grown-up decisions and that's where our counselors and advisors come in to help us."
Hodge also talked about the importance and accessibility of teachers and mentors providing these resources to students.
"A lot of students feel like they don't have the resources and I am a firm believer that school isn't for everybody but I do feel like it's important to give those students the resources that they need to have those options to go to school and put them in positions to be successful and give them those resources to be successful and be the person that they want to be in life."
Senior Cedric Fuller said he wants to be in the Air Force's Elite Branch before going to college. He says he wouldn't know what to do if it weren't for the guidance from his advisors.
"I have a mentor and he actually encouraged me that the Air Force is not as bad as people may think it is," Fuller said. "He brightened up my mood because I want to go to college but I just don't know."
When it comes to that guidance, counselor Braxton Jefferson feels the need to step up and be there for students who might not normally get that from their families. He says kids can get overwhelmed with the applications, financial aid, and SAT's so he's there to walk them through it all.
"The pressures of walking into the real world are very prominent and it's scary because you know you don't have someone holding your hand or making decisions for you," Jefferson said. "A lot of times you run into the kids saying 'I don't know what to do' or 'my mom said to do this' and you kind of lose track like well what do you actually want to do? What actually brings you joy? What do you see yourself doing in the long run?"
Overall, whether these students go to college or start in the workforce, they say they feel seen and supported during their final months of high school.
"While we're learning with them, the kids are learning too so it's a learning experience for all of us," Jefferson said. "In the past, a lot of kids have waited until the last minute to apply but we have to see it through and make sure that we see them through the finish line."
"They want us to be successful and I really do thank them for that," Hodges said. "It's hard not to use those resources when they're right in front of you."
For the full list of schools. that are waiving their application fees, you can go to www.GAFutures.org.