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Starting in the summer before twelfth grade, seniors must start seriously deliberating about their future as they will become high school graduates and move on to the next chapter of their lives within a year. There are many different paths that seniors can walk: taking a job straight out of high school, joining the military, taking a gap year, and community college. However, around 70% of California seniors choose to take a more traditional path, having already begun the grueling application process.
Making seniors sum up their whole lives into a couple of essays and extracurricular activities makes college applications notoriously difficult. It can take up to months to fully complete this process, with each applicant rereading and analyzing their responses to ensure the best chance at getting into the schools of their dreams. Senior Iman Parwiz shared that the college application process “is very time-consuming. [She thinks] the hardest part is just finding time to sit down and just stay on track and power through all the work”.
Many school resources, such as counselors, hosting workshops, and college fairs, help aid struggling seniors decide what schools to apply to, or how to complete their application. Senior Kiana Sohrab shared that for her, “the hardest part has been deciding what topics to pick for [her] essays and coming up with [her] college list”. There are many events organized at the beginning of every year that can help those struggling to reach decisions and clarify certain aspects of the application. Prestigious schools come to visit during school hours, such as Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, UCSB, and more. Other events hosted include “How to Pay for College Night” and the “Fall Mini College Fair”. The school counselors can advise students throughout the process, as well as the college counselor, Mama Mary.
The college process can be confusing, and receiving advice from those who have already gone through it can make it a bit easier. Sohrab recommends that applicants should “start writing essays in the summer to get as much as you can done. It’s a lot harder having to write essays and worry about deadlines while having to manage all of your schoolwork”.
Every senior is feeling the pressure of the unknown future that awaits them after they graduate from high school. Whether they will go on to college, or decide on another path, each person will be moving on to a new and different chapter in their lives. Good luck seniors!
