College Corner

Contributions from Aaron Phung and Anisa Robles

Hey Vikings! It’s college time. In this article, we’ll go over some of the different college applications.

For all of your applications, you will need to fill out quite a bit of information. Since a lot of these questions on the application require information about your parents, you’ll want to ask your parents to help you out with applying. You’ll need your transcript, and of course, you will need to complete all required A-G courses by the time you graduate high school. Colleges also have fees for submitting applications, however many offer waivers for lower-income students. You’ll also need test scores for the SAT or ACT; however this year, due to the unprecedented pandemic, colleges have temporarily dropped their requirement for test scores (although you can still submit test scores if you took the exams) for the 2021 graduating class. Students who have taken AP tests will also want to submit their AP test scores.

The UC application filing period for fall classes will start on November 1st, and the deadline to turn in applications is November 30th. When you fill out a UC application, you’ll need to select the UC colleges that you want to apply to, instead of having to apply to each school. For the application, you’re going to have to answer 4 out of 8 personal insight questions, with a maximum of 350 words for each question. These questions cover a wide range of personal subjects about your personal life. Often, these questions can make your application, as it is one of the ways to make yourself stand out above the rest of the other applicants.

For the CSU applications, the application filing period started on October 1st, and the deadline is December 4th. Like the UC application, you will select which colleges you wish to apply to on the application website. Like the UC application, there are personal questions that the application will ask you. As of writing, the application for fall 2021 students has not opened yet.

For most colleges that aren’t UC’s or CSU’s, you will most likely fill out a Common App application, which is a general application that most private colleges use. Deadlines will vary from college to college, so make sure you find out the deadline for the college(s) you’re applying to. Like the previous applications mentioned earlier, you’ll fill out some information about you, your parents, your household, etc. However, depending on which college you plan to attend, additional requirements may be present, such as certain personal essays or teacher recommendations.