Choosing the right college and figuring out how to pay for it is worrisome enough but waiting for college acceptance only amplifies the situation.

Though graduation is five months away, Northwestern Lehigh High School seniors have been trying to deal with this reality while they complete their high school years.

The relationship between seniors and their guidance counselors is key.

“We highly recommend that [seniors] apply to multiple schools, one safe school, two or three where they may fall within the entrance requirements and one or two reach schools,” said guidance counselor Nicole Zimmerman. “Most of our students apply to multiple schools.”

Ryan Terrell fits this profile, applying to several schools.

Though Johns Hopkins is his No. 1, he’s also applied to Carnegie Mellon and Lehigh University, which he regards as his safe school.

Terrell, who wants to major in chemical engineering, has yet to hear back, though.

“I’ve been keeping myself busy with science club, band and spring sports,” he said. “I’m on the science team right now and the robot is plaguing me.”

But that keeps his mind occupied with upcoming competitions in the Science Olympiad instead of worrying about the future.

Hana Toth also has yet to hear.

Toth applied to five colleges including Penn State, Cornell University, Drexel and NC State.

“Penn State is my No. 1,” she said. “I was interested in it a lot [even though] the party stuff is not really my scene, but I just met with Cornell and was impressed. I saw a lot of similarities between the two.”

Toth wants to go into agricultural engineering.

“I looked at the colleges that were sending me things,” she said, “And they [in turn] look at all the stuff [I’ve] done.”

Then there are those who applied to far fewer schools.

“I got the acceptance letter the day before my birthday. It was the only school in the area that has my major,” Tessa Nichols said.

Elizabeth Fornauf, who is majoring in sports management, said she received the good news before Christmas.

“It was nerve-wracking because I only applied to one school. I applied to Temple [because] it was the best school and the best location,” Fornauf said.

“I heard back within two weeks,” said Brianna Werley, who was accepted to Wilkes University. “I didn’t even get a chance to apply to other places. I just had to wait for the money.”

There are ways to minimize the worry that comes with waiting, though, and one of them is applying to colleges very early.

“It definitely helps to have early admission,” said Megan Rebert, grinning. “I got into Temple, but I also applied early action to NYU.”

Anthony Vennera will be attending SUNY’s Maritime College in New York with a dual major in marine engineering and naval architecture.

“I only applied to that one [school] but I had multiple applications ready to send just in case,” he said.

Ultimately, Vennera hopes to join the Navy where he wants to work on weapon designs “to protect our troops.”

Like choosing a college, the scholarship search is very individualistic.

“Some seniors are in full force, looking and applying for scholarships,” said guidance counselor Erica Gross.

Werley, who plans on entering college in biology pre-med, said Wilkes University “is offering [me] $17,000 a year” for instance.

“I’m really aiming for Muhlenberg but Moravian and Cedar Crest will give me a lot of money,” said Katelyn Morrison. “They have a really good media program at Muhlenberg and that’s the one I’m interested in.”

Morrison earned a biology scholarship at Cedar Crest, which allows her to compete for other scholarships that could actually cover the entire college expense.

“The $20,000 they gave me was based on my grades and my SAT scores,” she said with a quiet smile.

With all these decisions to make, students turn to their guidance counselors for assistance.

“You always want to be careful not to push a student to a four-year college right away. It’s not always the smartest choice,” said guidance counselor Gross.

“A lot of our students are getting a head start on their college degrees with dual enrollment,” said Zimmerman. “Some choose to continue at LCCC for a variety of reasons.”

Seniors hoping to continue their education after high school have a lot to do.

“Application deadlines are important to consider and that depends on the specific school,” said Zimmerman. “We work very closely to create that time line for student to make the transition.”

Northwestern’s three guidance counselors serve to make the transition from high school to college as painless as possible.

“We meet with our students prior to the senior year to make sure they’re prepared for the senior year,” said Zimmerman, who urges students to “[begin] early, going on college visits the summer before so that they have a clear idea when they come back their senior year.”

“We meet with seniors at the beginning of the school year,” added Gross. “We meet with every single senior.”

Technology has impacted the college application process.

“With college applications being on line, it’s easier to manage, and both the checks and balances are visible. I can see if a teacher hasn’t submitted a letter of application or see if other materials need to be submitted,” said Gross. “Everything is tracked. You could see when [each piece] is submitted so there are no excuses.”

“There is a little bit of a down side, though,” admitted Gross. “We miss out on that face to face interaction [with the students] where we could have a little dialogue each time we see them.”