February, 2023
By Janet Castillo, Assistant Editor
Here at KIPP Austin Collegiate, we prepare for the college application process from the time we’re freshmen. But the question still remains: what steps, exactly, are part of the college application process?
It’s where all seniors start to apply to colleges, programs, and see what they want their future to look like. This usually happens in the beginning/middle of September and goes on until December for early decisions and/or winter break.
First of all, we make a list of schools we would want to apply to, where they would have the major you want to graduate in. We then make sure they meet our criteria of how many colleges we have to apply for. We usually work on the Texas State and ACC applications together as a class.
Some advice I give is to apply to as many colleges as you want, at the end you can get many acceptances, as well as rejections but it’s better to have different options at the end. Another piece of advice is ask for help whenever you need it! Don’t make mistakes only because you don’t want to ask, ask for help, because if you mess up it can be really hard and annoying to make the adjustment and can take a long time. It can become stressful, so I say start applying whenever they tell you and of course try to meet all deadlines!
I had the honors to interview a fellow student, in the class of 2023, in Class A, Ailin Mendoza. The first question I asked her was “What strategies do you recommend?”, and she responded with, “Make a plan with your time. I think timing is a big factor in not only submitting the application by deadline but making it good enough to get in.” Following the second question, “How did it feel applying to colleges?”, and she responded with, “It was overwhelming, I didn’t expect college applications to be so stressful and time consuming. With that said however, the end feeling of getting in, makes it worth it.” And last, but not least, “What advice do you give students for when they get to their senior year?”, with her response, “Just try, you’ll never know until you do so.”
I also had the honor to interview Karime Perez, a senior as well. First question, “What strategies do you recommend?” her response, “Try having in mind already what colleges you will for sure want to apply to, then start off with the short ones and then go to the longer ones last, or do the opposite, the long ones first and then the short applications, but try having a plan. Also be confident and trust the process.” Following the second question, “How did it feel applying to colleges?”, with her response, “ When we first started I felt it was way too soon, but I knew that it probably was gonna be a bit difficult and long, so I was ready to take on the challenge.”
And last but not least, “What advice do you give students for when they get to their senior year?”, her response, “Take Junior Seminar seriously!! I can’t stand this enough, but they will literally help you, all those tasks when they make you write your essays and short answers to questions and have to review over and over again your papers, take it seriously. If you do, you will be so happy and relieved that you won’t have to take long to think on what to write or come up with answers. In addition, also give yourself time, self-care is important, don’t overstress yourself, but do try to meet all deadlines!”
The Cardinal Post