High school seniors express their sentiments on applying to college and their plans for the future.
In the Fall, many events happen. There’s Halloween, Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving but, many high school seniors recognize this time of year as “college season”. It’s during the fall that many colleges and universities have their deadlines for college applications. California State Universities and Universities of California had their applications due by November 30, 2022. Colleges and universities outside of California have different deadlines, same goes for any private university.
CSU and UC applications opened on October 1, giving students around 2 months to complete their applications. However, students are still students and have other aspects of their lives that need to be taken into consideration, so it is not always easy to get these applications done.
Estrella Leon, a senior at South High school, shared that “Applying isn’t hard all the time, but it can get kind of hard and nerve-wracking. My aspirations are just to get out of the house or find a way into life steadily and quickly. I plan to attend Woodbury University or Laguna College of Art and Design.”
However, Leon also has other backup plans in case she doesn’t get accepted into a college. “ If I don’t get accepted to college for any reason, I plan to find and apply for an internship at a tattoo parlor and later become a tattoo artist.”
Moreover, some students don’t know much about what lies ahead in their future and are still trying to figure out those plans.
College applications can also be a struggle for students when they are the first in their families to go to college.
“College applications were like a small barrier for me. As the oldest, I haven’t had any family advice in regard to applications,” said Jose Gomez from Independence High School. “However, with the past Thanksgiving break we just had, it has given me time to get my applications done, and I have received a lot of help from counselors. I want to attend a UC and get into the medical field.”
The process of college applications can let students decide what feels comfortable for them and how they want to go about their academic plans. Some students will want to leave home and study in a new place, and others want to stay local and near home. This is the case for Gerardo Ortiz a senior at Stockdale High School.
“I’m planning to go to Bakersfield College. It just feels like the better option for me,” said Ortiz.
Similar to Ortiz, Noemi Gonzalez, a senior at Ridgeview High School, wants to go to a community college like BC or Taft College before transferring to a CSU. She’s hoping to take the time at the community college to make a final decision on what she wants to do.
“To be honest, I’m really confused on how the whole enrollment process works, mostly because I’m still unsure on what field I want to go into,” said Gonzalez. “I want to go into art/animation, but I need to think more about it. It’s just really stressing me out. I just want to be in a position where I can support myself and be independent so I can set an example for my siblings.”
Even if it is close to home, getting a higher education at any institution is still a job well done. However, even after all this time of getting informed and having time for college applications, there are still students that find themselves lost. They don’t know whether college suits their plans for the future, or maybe they want to pursue something different first before giving college a try.
“I’m most likely waiting to attend college. After high school, I plan to get a job and raise money for when I actually apply and attend college, including my future expenses,” said Juan Hurtado Cruz, senior at Golden Valley High School.
Even though Cruz is waiting on college, the application process is still on his mind.
“However, this means that I haven’t looked at college applications as much, but I’ll do that pretty soon just to prepare myself. My feelings towards applying for colleges are very much annoyed and daunting. But overall, my aspirations are to leave my house as fast as possible and live far away from my home, as well as to start a career in art.”
Many unique and individual thoughts and plans go through the minds of high school seniors. Going to college, or not, are big decisions to make, and requires a lot of thought and devotion to preparing for it. No matter the final decision, it should be important to support these students and their goals.
All in all, to whoever is in the middle of completing their college applications, continue doing your best. It is best to get them done as soon as you can and don’t stress too much. Class of 2023, you got this!
