Seniors share their college and career plans

By Ernesto H.

Senior year may be stressful, getting work done from different classes, trying to get good grades, applying to college, filling out applications, and preparing for their finals.

However, some students share their thoughts about college, which college they are applying to, what they want to major in, and what they think of what’s to come by the time they arrive at college.

Christopher C. said he applied to Cal States such as Cal State Northridge, Long Beach, Fullerton, and LA. “But the main campus I want to stay at is Northridge,” he said. He also mentioned, “What I want to major in Northridge is Engineering because I like the subject.”

He said, “I feel like it is going to be more challenging than high school, I am excited but nervous at the same time.”

Riquelme A. said he applied to Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State LA, and Cal State Monterey Bay.

“I am aiming for Cal Poly Pomona, and I want to major pre-vet,” he said. “I’m just going to have to be on my own, but I am excited to go to college.”

On the other hand, Andy V. wants to apply to a community college.

“I want to major in either medical to be a firefighter or aviation.” He also said, “It’s going to be challenging, but it will be all worth it at the end, I am excited for the future.”

Christopher A., applied to private schools, UCs, and Cal States.

“For privates, I am applying to Stanford, Harvard, Cal Tech, and USC. for UCs, I’m doing, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Barbara, but Berkeley is the only one I want to get into. And for Cal states, I applied to Cal State San Francisco,  Cal State Irvine, and Cal Poly Humboldt, but I only want to go to Humboldt, I already got accepted to San Francisco, but I am not going, I instead want to go to Humboldt.”

Christopher A. said, “I want to major in political science because I am trying to be a lawyer, and then after lawyer, when I’m at the top, I’ll split into politics to become the senator, or the governor of California then become a Congress member, and then become the President of the United States by 40.”

“College is probably going to be difficult, difficult as in the amount of work I have to produce, but I have been doing my work, but I feel like college is the next level up and I might have to adjust to that,” he said.

“But the main school I want to go to is UC Berkeley, because it is a good school, and for Cal States, Cal Poly Humboldt because of the location, a beautiful place right in the middle of the forest.”

I would go for any private as long as they give me a full ride, so I’m probably not going to a private. I’m applying but if I get accepted, I won’t go unless they give me a full ride.”

Advice from the author

Step 1: If you want to start your college search, here are some tips for you: Talk to your family members, start a conversation with them, talk about your interests, something you enjoy, and goals. Talk to someone who has college experience and find out what kind of support they can give you.

Step 2: Firstly, what is something that you want to do in college? Try to make a list of majors, locations, and extracurricular activities you would be interested in. Taking this will help you better understand what you’re looking for when reviewing colleges you’re interested in.

Step 3: If you want advice, it is heavily recommended that you get advice from your school counselor about starting your college search. If necessary, you can talk to people who have college experiences such as teachers, or relatives, and could ask about what college is like and how they found their college.

Step 4: Another way to search for a college is doing it online. Visiting a college website could give you an idea of student life and classes, you can take advantage of field trips that your school offers as well. You’ll be able to contact admissions officers and current students with questions.

Step 5: As said previously, visiting a campus, especially from field trips taken from your school, can help experience how it may feel like. You will be able to talk to college students and possibly get a better sense of what you do and don’t want in a college. You’ll also start to see how college is different from high school.

Step 6: Once all the above is complete, use all the information you’ve gathered to make a list of colleges you are interested in. You will be able to use the list you have created to get a better idea of what is important to you in a college and where you want to go. To learn more about campuses, you can visit bigfuture.collegeboard.org