What You Need to Know When Applying to College

As a senior this year I, along with many other seniors, realize it is now time to become serious about the college application process. I know from experience that all the information being thrown at us is very overwhelming. There are applications to fill out, scholarships and financial aid to apply for, there are a million different deadlines, and on top of all that we are still in school every day and doing tasks we had to do before. Now that we are older, we have a lot more responsibility, like jobs and helping out with our siblings. If you look a little bit closer at the application process and have all the information, it becomes a lot less stressful.  

Applications for UC’s opened on August 1st, but you do not have to turn in the applications until November 30th. For CSU’s, applications will open October 1st and like the UC’s will not close until close November 30th. The most important thing to be careful of is due dates. If you miss a deadline, then you miss it-there is no going back. 

Due to COVID-19, in May of 2020, the UC Board of Regents unanimously voted to make the ACT and SAT optional until 2022. CSU also decided that they would extend the elimination of test scores until 2023. That means this year UC’s and CSUs are not requiring ACT or the SAT, so unless you plan to apply to a private school, you do not need to take it. With that being said, it is never a bad idea to take the test anyway. Not having the test scores on your application will not hurt your application, however this means that other parts of your application will stand out more. Things like your GPA, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and your essays will be a little more important.  

Another very important thing is to get help! If you have a question, do not be afraid to ask for help. Righetti High School has a College and Career Center where you can always go with any of your questions. When I asked Ms. McDonald, who is a counselor in the career center, one thing that she believes all seniors should know when applying to college is that “…pacing yourself and setting your own personal deadlines so you don’t feel overwhelmed is very important. When I look back on other students, there is one thing they always say and that is that they wished they could have started earlier so they didn’t feel so much pressure. So start early so you can feel satisfied with the work you turn in.”