It’s the most wonderful time of the year: college application submissions. Last year, OSSM students were accepted to 88 colleges and universities across the United States and matriculated to 27.

The Class of 2020 has also been busy with a November 1 deadline for some applications. To date, seniors have submitted 180 college applications to 70 different institutions. Of these, 71 are early action or early decision.

Overall 51 students applied early action to special programs and service academies, while 11 submitted early decision applications to Brown, Duke, Emory, Rice, Penn, Northwestern and Tufts. Additionally, seven students applied early action to MIT while two applied to Princeton.

From the faculty side, 19 OSSM professors wrote recommendation letters and the College Counselor Cynthia Parish drafted 50.

Early action, as its name implies, means the student is accepted into the institution before the traditional application deadline. Generally it is not binding, meaning the student can continue to accept admission offers from other universities. Early decision applications, on the other hand, if accepted, are binding except in the case of insufficient financial assistance. Upon acceptance, students must then withdraw all other applications.

Additionally, OSSM has seven finalists for the prestigious Questbridge College Match Scholarship. The Questbridge, in conjunction with its college partners, offers full, four-year scholarships worth more than $200,000 each. The Scholarship covers the cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies and travel expenses. Recipients will be notified on December 2.

OSSM’s college counseling office diligently works to ensure that students and parents are aware of the wide range of college choices and scholarships that are available, to help find the right college for their individual needs, to work through the application process and to be able to afford their choice. For more information contact Cynthia Parish at 405-522-7830 or Cynthia.parish@ossm.edu.