By Reid Heavner,
Copy Editor.
As we come into the winter months, it’s coming time for seniors to apply to colleges. Daunting as this process seems, it becomes easier by magnitudes once you break it down into its simple steps. “There’s so much going on for seniors, so it gets really hard to manage everything on top of college apps,” said senior Grace Rocco.
The first, and arguably most important, step in applying to college is to choose which colleges you’re actually interested in attending. With thousands of schools in the U.S. to choose from, everyone’s perfect college can be found somewhere. Aim to choose a small handful of schools that you would be happy to attend, with a balance of ‘safeties,’ ‘targets’ and ‘reaches,’ at different likelihoods of acceptance. Taking time to thoroughly research colleges and make a list will set you up for success in the later parts of the application process.
Most college applications fall into a few categories. Many private or out-of-state schools use the Common App. The Common App asks for a personal statement (chosen from a series of very broad prompts), some general and school-specific information (classes and grades, family information, etc.) and supplemental school-specific essays. UCs use their own similar application, with the primary difference being that four “Personal Interest Questions” replace the personal statement and supplemental essays. CSUs operate on an entirely different system which is far less time consuming and does not require any essay writing.
After you’ve outlined the general applications that you need to complete, you can begin working on the specific requirements for each application. Personal Statement and supplemental essays (for the Common App) or PIQs (for UCs) generally are the most time-consuming part of an application and should be written at a spread-out pace. References are usually required only for Common App and are another part of the application that should be addressed as early as possible — your referee will need lots of time to write the letter. These, along with a list of your extracurriculars, make up the bulk of your application. Make sure to submit your applications well before the deadline. The UC application submission portal is infamous for crashing on the Nov. 30 deadline.
Once you’ve applied to your colleges, there remains just one important step: financial aid. Aid can generally be grouped into categories: institutional or federal, need-based or merit-based and gift aid or self-help or loans. For the UCs, all need-based aid is determined through the FAFSA. The FAFSA (which is already open!) is a free application for aid in which you share your family’s general financial situation. It is a basic requirement for all aid from UCs, for consideration for federal aid (including federally subsidized loans) and often is a prerequisite to consideration for institutional aid at private schools. For a few students, the California Dream Act application will also be necessary for aid at UCs. If you’re applying to private schools, you may also have to fill out the CSS profile, which is a more in-depth evaluation of need created by CollegeBoard that determines institutional aid at private schools.
With those steps completed carefully, all that will be left is to enjoy senior year and watch the offers come in. Though this process seems complex, you quickly realize just how much easier it is once you actually start your applications and follow the steps. Good luck, Panthers!
