As winter arrives at UC High, seniors have finished the University of California and California State college applications, and are almost through the common application season, with one more UC High college workshop seminar left.
UC High Counselor Kelsey Bradshaw and all the other counselors at UC High have been working tirelessly to ensure every senior student gets the help they need for their personal goals and plans regarding college. “We have already met with all of our seniors to go over their transcripts and discuss what they’re interested in studying next year, as well as their post-graduation plans,” said Bradshaw.
Bradshaw said that the counselors also account for students who don’t want to go straight into a four-year university. They provide similar guidance and advice for students who wish to go to community college, straight into work, or even into a trade school. Bradshaw stated, “I think community college is a great way for students to start. It’s free, and for students who worry that they are not ready for college, I feel like it’s a good stepping stone.”
Bradshaw wants to ensure that students get the information and help they need when completing their college applications, as the process often can be arduous or confusing. According to Bradshaw, all the counselors organized “…application workshops on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the first two weeks of November and during the last week before we go out on Winter Break.” According to Bradshaw, these workshops were “at lunchtime in the Centurion Room.”
Bradshaw said, “At these workshops, students had the opportunity to work on their applications while counselors walked around the Centurion Room to answer any questions that popped up. Through these workshops, students have an area to work on their applications with support from people who are experienced in the process. This support is not just helpful, but also reaffirming for students in a stressful time.”
“In addition to helping students with the application process, if a student doesn’t know what college they want to attend or what they want to study, the counselors provide resources such as online surveys to help them better understand what they are interested in and where they want to go. I encouraged students to do some of the surveys that College Board and Xello have, to say, ‘Hey what are you interested in? What kind of school are you interested in if that’s the realm we want to go to?’” said Bradshaw.
Senior Raman Pyzhyk has been on top of his college applications, and is looking forward to taking the next steps in his education. “I’m planning to major in Film and TV Production, I’m applying to a lot, but top choices are UCLA, Chapman University and CSU Northridge,” Pyzhyk said.
“My biggest piece of advice to juniors planning to apply to college is to start very, very early. Once the school year starts you will have less time and motivation to do your applications. Especially if you have a lot of supplemental essays you need to submit, like me. You could very easily be overloaded with tasks and deadlines,” said Pyzyk.
Like Pyzyk, Senior Alejandro Flores, who is planning to major in mechanical engineering, shared his views on why college isn’t a necessity. “I think college is necessary only for some careers. If you want to be something like a lawyer or doctor you need a college degree. However, I think college is unnecessary for financial success, and believe that a college degree doesn’t guarantee future financial freedom,” said Flores.