The seniors at UC High have been working to fill out their college applications and fulfill all the requirements for their hopes to attend the college of their choice next year.
Senior Eleasar Pla said, “It’s been stressful especially during the preparation for the ACT, SAT, and now the college application process.”
“Different schools have different deadlines; it varies with the school,” said Counselor Clayton Ballard. According to Ballard, November 30 is the deadline for California State Universities and University of California schools. On November 1, UC schools open their application window, and CSU schools’ windows are already open.
“When we come and do articulation, we talk about A through G, and we drill you guys on A through G. When you turn on a college application, the format is A through G,” said Ballard. According to University of California’s website, A through G requirements are the high school courses that are required to be considered for admission (universityofcalifornia.edu).
“Start it, check it, send it,” said Ballard. He explained that with college applications, start them early, go over them, and send them. He stressed that students should make copies of their applications and organize a binder with a check off list to be sure they aren’t missing anything before they send it.
Most colleges look at your grades from grades 10-12, but a lot of schools are starting to consider ninth grade. And if people have some clunky grades, they might want to do some summer school to repair that,” said Ballard.
“Let your career drive your list of schools,” said Ballard. Ballard explained that when choosing your list of schools, be sure to find a program that will get you into the field. “Find the program and let it drive you, apply to a program not a school,” he said.
“It’s been very stressful because I did my applications early. I already submitted my application last month to a number of schools, but I’m glad I did because now the whole content of applications are done and I can just reuse the content,” said Senior Sarah Em.
According to Ballard, some private schools have an early action application deadline. According to Stanford’s website, restrictive early action is a non-binding early application option for students who have completed a thorough college search and are confident Stanford is their first choice (standford.edu).
“PSAT helps build AP classes but also does something that people don’t realize. When you take the test, the little number on the bottom, your name, your information goes into a bank of colleges and there might be those ‘non t-shirt’ schools that are looking for some superstars. It’s basically a recruiting tool,” said Ballard.