Senior Issue 2023

B2| Senior Issue Friday, May 26, 2023
What do colleges look for?
Applications
require
everything
from essays to
extracurriculars
Lexi Broughton
Staff Writer
When starting college applications
during senior, it’s
difficult to know exactly what
to focus on, and what kinds of
achievements students should
brag about to schools.
Even before senior year,
what kinds of extracurriculars
should students sign up for? Is
volunteer work really worth it?
What about grades?
“Sometimes from the perspective
of a high school
student you’re thinking about
where you want to get in and
what you want to major in,”
Suzy Thomas, a professor in
the counseling department at
St. Mary’s College, said. “But
from an admissions perspective,
they’re thinking about each
student individually and what
they might bring to campus,”
To the freshmen and sophomores
rushing to get as many
volunteer hours as they can and
study for hours on end, keep in
mind that Thomas said the most
important aspects of school to
focus on are your passions and
doing what you love.
“I think what’s important [for
college applications] is showing
how activities connect to what
you want to do in college, or
something that you can demonstrate
that you care deeply about
that you’ve done for a while,”
Thomas said. “Something that’s
part of who you are.”
Two college counselors said
something important regarding
students’ college admissions is
that they focus on connecting
extracurriculars that can show a
possible career to pursue.
“It’s helpful if you have extracurriculars
with a purpose,”
Cal High’s college and career
adviser Kathryn Nichols said.
“So you’re doing things that
you enjoy that might lead you
towards a possible career or
field of study.”
Some good extracurricular
activities could involve volunteer
hours, part time job, clubs,
internships, and sports.
“[I’ve been involved in]
things like clubs here, BSU,
black student union, and leadership,
there’s a lot of involvement
helping out with the school”
senior Dinari Baez said. “I think
I do those things because I have
passion for that, for being a leader
and even to mentor others.”
Grades are also fairly important
when it comes to admissions.
Nichols said having
decent grades is helpful for
college admissions, but other
activities outside of school are
also incredibly beneficial.
“At [Saint Mary’s College]
for example, at the undergraduate
and graduate level, we’re
interested in who the person
is and how they’ve grown and
what their story is,” Thomas
said. “You might have a student
who was really strong freshman
year and maybe something happened
in their personal life and
their sophomore grades dipped
a little bit and they got back into
the swing of things junior year.”
This is a good opportunity for
students to take advantage of the
essay portion of the application.
Out of the prompts offered, it
could be beneficial for students
to choose the ones that mean the
most to them, and use it to their
advantage to explain any challenges
they have experienced
in high school.
It is important for students to
demonstrate their personality
in their essays because this is
one of the only opportunities
to do so.
“That personal statement is a
big piece of how you share your
voice, your story and what’s
mattered to you and what your
goals are and any challenges
you’ve had,” Thomas said.
Since the pandemic, many
schools have decided to no
longer require students to take
the SAT or ACT.
According to Best Colleges,
roughly 2.2 million 2019 graduate
students took the SAT,
compared to 1.7 million 2022
students who took it. That’s
roughly a 22 percent decrease
Illustration by Arfa Saad
since the test was no longer
required for UCs in 2021.
“I took the SAT twice and I
got a private tutor, but I didn’t
end up taking it again because
it doesn’t really matter,” senior
Ananya Premanand said.
Since decisions were released
throughout the month of March,
many seniors were surprised to
realize they were not accepted
into as many schools as they had
hoped. While acceptance rates
for 2023 have yet to be released,
some speculations have risen
about why this is, and if rates
really are lower.
“Sometimes it may be because
campuses have decided
on how many students total
they can admit, and if they don’t
feel they can’t admit as many as
they did the year before, then it
appears to be rigorous because
there are fewer spots available,”
Thomas said. “Also I’ve heard
since the pandemic some students
delayed college, and so
it’s possible that some of those
students who maybe graduated
last year or the year before are
now applying.”
Something on the lighter side
is the amount of students getting
off waitlists. Just because students
are wai- listed for a school
doesn’t mean they should lose
hope. A large number of seniors
are taken off the waitlist around
early to mid May.
“More than usual are getting
off the waitlist for Berkley right
now and some more getting off
from UCLA,” Nichols said.
There’s some weirdly specific scholarships available
Who qualifies for these things?
Kian Kasad
and Rohan Iyer
Staff Writers
In the tumultuous sea of
student debt and university
tuitions, there’s one lifeline
that every college-goer tries
desperately to grab hold of:
scholarships.
Almost everyone knows the
general idea, but some of the
specifics of some pretty sizable
scholarships can get a bit weird.
For a pretty mild example,
let’s take a look at the American
Fire Sprinkler Association’s
scholarship. Most scholarships
select their winners based on
certain criteria: academic excellence,
family background,
physical traits, etc. It’s just some
sort of baseline to consider who
should be awarded the scholarship
and who shouldn’t.
But the AFSA has decided
that that’s too selective, and
instead awards money to people
through blind luck. Any interested
students that are able to fill
out the application are put into
consideration for $1,000, and
the winner is chosen completely
at random.
And I know what you’re
thinking. That’s not too strange
is it? It’s just like a lottery but
for students.
Well, why don’t we move on
and take a look at the Flying
Musician Association’s Solo
Program Scholarship. We’d
love to elaborate on this one,
but we think you can get the
gist of it from the name alone.
It’s a scholarship for musicians
who are interested in the
pursuit of aviation. Getting selected
for this scholarship means
a shortcut to getting your pilot’s
license, which is pretty cool,
We’re down for that. We’re
just stuck on where the musician
part comes into this. Maybe
we’re just being picky, but
this entire thing feels a bit too
specific.
We’re sure there’s a ton of
musicians out there who would
love to be pilots, and to all of you
out there, we have only respect
in our hearts. But with all due
respect, we’re just gonna play
my instrument on the ground.
In all honesty this next one’s
not even that strange. We just
think the name is pretty funny.
It’s known as the American
Association of Candy Technologists’
(AACT’s) John Kitt Memorial
Scholarship. The actual
scholarship is pretty normal. It
just awards money to college
students who are in a food
science adjacent field and who
have demonstrated an interest
in confectionery technology.
We just think that the American
Association of Candy Technologists
sounds like something
straight out of Willy Wonka
and thought that it was worth
the mention.
Maybe you don’t have unique
interests that qualify you for the
aforementioned scholarships.
Maybe you find yourself towering
over everyone else. In
that case, consider applying
for the Tall Clubs International
Foundation’s scholarship.
Male applicants must be
6-foot-2 or taller, and women
must be 5-foot-10 or taller.
There are some other requirements
too, including recommendations
from teachers,
essays, and good grades.
Are you a Jewish orphan
studying aeronautical engineering
at UCLA? Probably
not, since nobody has ever
qualified for the Malcolm R.
Stacey scholarship that awards
those who meet that description.
At least, not under the original
terms. The school changed the
criteria in 1987 to make it easier
to obtain. Now, any Jewish students
at UCLA demonstrating
financial need can qualify for
the scholarship.
Now for another scholarship
based on something you
can’t control: the John Gatling
Grant at North Carolina State
University. Applicants for this
grant must have the last name
“Gatling” or “Gatlin.” And before
you run to court to change
your name, know that even that
won’t qualify you for this grant.
You have to submit an official
copy of your birth certificate to
prove your Gatling-ness.
Do none of these scholarships
apply to you yet? Well here’s one
for you, as long as you’re part
of the 10 percent of people who
prefer their left hand, or you’re
willing to spend the summer
learning to write left-handedly.
The Frederick and Mary F.
Beckley Scholarship at Juniata
College is awarded to qualifying
left-handed sophomores,
juniors and seniors.
Sadly, this award is not
actually available anymore.
It disappeared from Juniata
College’s website, making it
impossible to apply.
While this next one won’t
apply to any Cal High students,
it’s still worth mentioning. The
Gertrude J. Deppen Scholarship
at Bucknell University
is awarded to “graduates of
Mount Carmel Public High
School, who are not habitual
users of tobacco, intoxicating
liquor and narcotics, and who
do not participate in strenuous
athletic contests,” according to
the university’s website.
Scholarships for sports might
be the most common type of
scholarship out there.
But this is the only anti-sports
scholarship that we’ve heard
of, so it just had to make our
weird list.