Dear juniors, college is coming
Students talking and eating at break by the senior tables (Emerson Parker, The Puma Prensa)
By Sophia Hughes, web editor, Christian Bon, web editor
As Maria Carrillo sends its next batch of seniors out into the world, current juniors are being struck with the inevitable fact that they won’t be around next year. To some, this brings feelings of excitement, to others anxiety, and yet others confusion. But what are the current seniors feeling? And what advice might they offer?
To find out, we canvassed the senior lunch tables—the place many seniors have been frequenting for at least a year and the place they will likely never visit again—and found some common trends. The most prevailing feeling was anticipation. Emi Watanabe said she was “excited to start a new chapter” and experience the “independence in general” college offers. This was corroborated by Madison Cooper, who was looking forward to “doing things on [her] own” and Paulina Avalos, who said she was “excited but nervous.” This feeling of nervousness was the other common trend we noticed. In one way or another, every senior we interviewed felt nervous about leaving for college. Some, like Katerina Zyrianov and Sam Lawson, were nervous about “Leaving current friends and trying to make new ones.” Others, like Makayla Carlson, were more anxious about “starting over” and “coming into reality.”
However, despite these feelings about leaving for college, the actual process of applying and choosing was, in general, surprisingly easy for most of the seniors we talked to. Even though it was easy, they did have some advice. In most cases, seniors have recommended that juniors start looking into their college applications early.
Seniors like Grace Zucco and Avalos advise juniors to “start earlier than you think,” and to “not procrastinate.” Procrastination is one of the main problems seniors faced this year and it caused unnecessary stress. While many were able to be accepted into their desired colleges even with procrastination, many say that the stress and loss of sleep were not worth it. Avoiding as much pressure as possible will pay off. Mia Garcia recommends utilizing the college and career counseling center, which can get busy around application deadlines, so starting early is essential. By visiting the College and Career Center, possibly even towards the end of junior year, and familiarizing yourself with college and career counselor Kimberly Handel who can give you some things to do over the summer, students will end up being much better prepared for when it’s time to start the official process. She also reminds students that “teachers are here to help and will be understanding.” Lawson says, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
Seniors also realized that keeping up with college applications after submitting them is crucial. Responding to follow up emails from colleges and making sure you provide any extra information if prompted for it may be the determining factor in getting accepted or rejected. When college applications are submitted, most colleges send information on creating an account for student portals or if extra documents need to be turned in. Handel recommends juniors to start researching colleges they are looking to apply to this summer and begin the process of narrowing down the list, which could cause less future stress with keeping updated and the actual application process. Most colleges also list requirements on their application pages that detail what is necessary to submit, which can give students an idea of if they need to start drafting personal statements or put together a list of people for letters of recommendation. Remember that UC applications start August 1, and CSU schools start October 1, which is right around the corner.
Ultimately, be it excited, nervous, or some combination of both, college applications are coming. They can be scary, but it is the process of starting a new season in life, and it’s undoubtedly a big deal. That said, it’s also important to remember that it’s not everything. Will Moiser reminds students, “Don’t kill yourself over applications. Know you are not limited to what you expect college to look like. Be forgiving of yourself and don't let your admissions or rejections dictate who you are.”