Each year, many eighth-graders have to make a decision that will affect the next four years of their lives: Where will they go to high school?

Several factors must be considered, such as the size of the school, distance from home, friends' plans, extracurricular interests, parents' wishes and academic challenges.

Y-Press talked to four eighth-graders from St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School on the Southside to find out what influenced their choices.

Kate Coveney, 13, Lindsey Cohen, 13, Mallory Opel, 14, and Thad Corcoran, 14, had different criteria for choosing high schools.

In the end, Lindsey decided to attend Cathedral High School, while Mallory, Kate and Thad will go to Roncalli High School, which is the feeder high school of St. Mark's parish.

All agreed that visiting potential high schools is crucial to making a final decision. It gives students a chance to evaluate the students, teachers, classes and school spirit.

"At Roncalli, it was very spirited and lively," Kate said. "The lockers were really decorated. Athletics and clubs were important to the school."

For a more in-depth encounter, some students choose to "shadow" a high school student for a day.

Kate and Lindsey shadowed students at Cathedral. For Lindsey, the experience convinced her that Cathedral was the right choice for her.

"I just love the atmosphere and the teachers a lot. I really felt at home," she said. "It made me really excited. It's making my eighth-grade year go slow because after visiting a high school and you see how big it is, going back to St. Mark's, a private little school, is sort of hard."

Lindsey, who also was enthu siastic about the many clubs at Cathedral, was supported by her family.

"I had a little help from my parents and my brothers because my brothers already go there, but mostly it was my decision," she said. "A lot of people were trying to push me into going to Roncalli. I want to make my own decision and go to the best school for me."

For Kate, who also looked into attending Greenwood and Center Grove high schools, drive time was a critical factor.

"We live way far south near Brown County, so I couldn't really drive to Cathedral every day," she said.

Kate's priorities were arts and academics. "I enjoy band, so I want a school with a good band, and I want a school with high academic achievement rates. I want to get into a good college, and I'm also interested in theater," she said.

Mallory's parents wanted her to go to a Catholic school, and she wanted a school that isn't too big.

"My parents have sort of a 50 percent say on where I go because we're Catholic," she said. "My mom went to Roncalli, so she knows a lot of the teachers and the principal."

Mallory also wanted a school with a wide range of sports opportunities. "I play basketball and volleyball. Roncalli is very into their sports, and they're very spirited," she added.

Thad also wanted a smaller school. "I thought that choosing a Catholic school is better than a public school because it's like more of a community. It's not as big."

He also was influenced by Roncalli's soccer program and its academic rigor. "I'm looking forward to like an honors diploma and getting a good application to college. I'm thinking of trying to get into Notre Dame," he said.

Once the students made their choices, they had to sign up for classes for next year. This process gave them some of their first feelings of anxiety about entering high school.

"I'm not very good at math, and I'm sort of scared going into high school with my math skills," said Lindsey. "It was sort of hard for me to make my choices because I (had to decide) what level I was taking and what classes I had to study for my sophomore and junior years."

Said Kate, "For me it was hard because I also wanted to be in choir and theater, and I can't do all of those, so I chose band. And I'm going to have to take extra classes for extra long days two years at Roncalli, so I'll be pretty tight with classes."

The students have other concerns as well, such as making friends and succeeding academically. They know standards will be different than St. Mark, with a graduating class of 27.

"I am going into Cathedral not knowing anybody. So the first week I assume is going to be hard for me," said Lindsey. "But I'm sort of outgoing, so I guess being involved in theater, going out and finding people will be sort of easy."

"I'm afraid that the academics will take a big leap," said Kate.

Thad also is concerned about academics, but he has a more practical concern. "I'm afraid that high school is going to be kind of hard to get around -- like, I won't be able to find my classes. And there will be a lot of new people, and they might be kind of scary to be around," he said.

They all have advice for seventh-graders who will make this decision next year.

"Think about what high school will make you the happiest," Lindsey said. "Don't take into consideration what everybody's telling you. Don't let everybody make your decision for you. It's really your decision."

Thad says his fellow eighth-graders shouldn't worry too much.

"I think that all my worries are going to be taken care of once I get there," he said. "They'll get used to it like they're used to their school now."

REPORTERS: Meher Ahmad, 14; Malachi Carter, 13; Aja Morrow, 12; Joi Officer, 11; and Steven Thompson, 13.

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