As November comes to a close, seniors are rushing to submit their college applications. Among the most popular choices are the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems, whose application deadlines are set for December 2.
The college application process has proved to be both exciting and stressful. While seniors have been thrilled to explore their options for the future, many have found the process to be lengthy and overwhelming. With 23 CSU campuses and 9 UC campuses, students have a variety of schools to choose from that can tailor to both their academic and career goals. However, navigating these choices and meeting application requirements has been daunting for some seniors.
For California State Universities, applications are looking for basic personal information about themselves such as their birthday and their academic history which is an oversight of all of their classes throughout high school. On the other hand, University of California applications are more personal. Students can expect to enter their general information as well as any extracurriculars they participated in or awards they received throughout their four years of high school.
Many students have expressed their struggles when writing their personal insight questions. Although the UC application gives prompts for students to follow, students have shared their struggles when deciding how to answer.
Marisol Gallardo (12) shared her perspective on the UC application process. She said, “The personal insight questions are the most stressful because it’s really difficult to figure out what to write about.”
Recognizing the challenges, teachers and administrators have stepped in to support students. Ms. Gonzalez, the senior counselor, opened her Pride Time throughout the past months to assist seniors and advised them on the different ways they can improve their applications. Some seniors have also been helping each other out with applications and have been vocal about the importance of completing everything on time.
Marley Zavala (12) shared advice for juniors preparing for their own college applications stating, “My advice for juniors is to participate in everything. Colleges are very interested in what you do in your free time and the awards you receive.”
As the deadline quickly approaches, seniors are looking forward to submitting their applications and relieving some of the stress and pressure they’ve been experiencing because of it.
