Tax information, citizenship and residency, demographic information and numerous amounts of intrusive questions are what students are expected to know when filling out college applications and financial aid.
With college application due dates being just around the corner, the class of 2024 is preparing in various ways. They have spent their past few weeks finalizing college lists, creating accounts for UCs, CSUs, Common App and gathering all the necessary documents and information they are required to provide.
Applying to college can be quite a roller coaster of emotions. Some seniors expressed feelings of stress, nervousness, happiness, and overall scared about it all.
Senior April Carbajal conveyed feeling a sense of stress regarding college applications, but also a relief once they get everything done.
“It’s been kind of stressful lately, but I feel like I’ll get by once I get my PIQ’s because I feel like that’s the main aspect that is holding me back, ” Carbajal said.
Keyla Bautista, another senior, revealed the same feelings of nervousness as Carbajal regarding their readiness for college.
“Um, I think I’m ready to start putting in info, but I’m not ready for rejections,” Bautista Said.
Before applying to college, you need to have a college list, which consists of categorizing colleges into safety, match and reach schools. You don’t want to just apply to the first colleges that come to mind without doing any proper research. The application process for each college can look quite different. UC’s require their own separate account to apply to their set of schools, and so do the CSU’s. Common App is a bit different in its own way, as only some private colleges are on the application. Some of these applications may take longer than others, and may be easier or harder for some.
Carbajal said that out of all college applications they were the least looking forward to was Common App. Their reason being that it felt too open-ended, but liked the creative freedom of it.
“I think I’m the least excited about the common app kind of because it’s so open-ended, but then you also get such creative freedom when writing your essay,” Carbajal said.
The college application season has been consistent throughout the years, and this year, it has continued to do so. Although there were a few changes made this year regarding financial aid, to be more specific, FAFSA. The new and improved application is supposed to make it easier and simpler for students and parents to navigate. According to the Federal Student Aid, the application is supposed to replace the expected family contribution with the student aid index, which will change the way aid is determined for each recipient. It will also expand access to Federal Pell Grants to more students. This change will also remove some questions regarding selective service registration and drug convictions, but will add some questions about race, sex and ethnicity, which will not have any effect on a person’s eligibility for aid. The 2024-25 FAFSA and CA Dream Act forms are expected to open sometime in December 2023. But, how are the seniors applying for financial aid feeling about this new change?
Senior Jackelyn Murillo mentioned feeling kind of relieved, and thought of this as a sort of extra time to focus on other things instead of everything all at once.
“I see it from two points, it doesn’t really affect me, but like, it’s a good thing that’s starting this December because we have a lot going on in October,” Murillo said.
Carbajal mentioned feeling a sense of confusion regarding the change.
“Um, wel,l kind of confusing as to why they moved it back. I really wish they would’ve kept the October date,” Carbajal said.
Applying to College and financial aid can be quite a hassle, especially gathering the necessary documentation and information to fill out the application. But don’t worry because it will all be worth it in the end.
Here are some words of advice from your senior peers:
“Keep pushing through”
“Stay motivated there’s no excuses”
“Good luck everyone”
“Don’t overwork yourself”
