Admissions Impossible?

By Sandra Garcia



It is now time for those long and complicated UC applications. I just got the application the other day, and it's really long. Its kind of hard for me to try to get help from the school and counselors. I am stressing about it because I have no idea where to start. They have so many different sections and it’s easy to get lost. They give you a 46-page explanation on the Internet on how to fill out each section but to be honest I really don’t want to print that out because it is a waste of paper.

But I am one of the lucky few who will get help from teachers. I have four different teachers who are willing to take the time to help me fill out the application step by step, even during their vacation time. They will also be helping me by showing me how to apply for financial aid. They will proofread my essay and let me know if I left something out or if I put something in there that is not necessary. They will also be writing my letters of recommendation.

My parents can’t help me fill this application out because neither of them went to college, they only got to about seventh grade before they dropped out, and besides, they don’t really know English. They can barely speak the language, so there's no point in asking them for help. If I don't even know where to start and I know English very well, how do I expect them to help me out when they don't know English half as well as I do?

The application is 10 pages long and we all need to be careful on how we fill it out because it's easy to make some simple mistakes. I downloaded my application from the Web and plan to fill it out by hand first, then put all that information on the Internet because it will arrive at its destination way faster.

I never knew that filling out these applications would mean that we needed to do research. I thought that filling out an application meant just answering some simple questions, but I was wrong. In the application they talk about codes and College Board advanced placement tests. I never knew the College Board even had advanced placement tests.

To do all that research we obviously need a computer and a connection to the internet. I wonder how people without internet access at home would find out all the information they need. How would they find all these answers that are yet unanswered if they don't have a computer to look for it? I'm glad that I have a computer with Internet access at home because without it I think I would be left with some unanswered questions and it would be a lot more difficult to fill the application out than it already is. I hate filling these applications out, as a matter a fact I haven’t even started filling it out and I’m already stressed out.

But with the help of these wonderful teachers it will be done in no time. I will be coming to school on my off time on Mondays and Wednesdays to get help filling out the applications. If it weren’t for these teachers who are taking the time to help me out, I don’t know how I would get these applications filled out. I might have never even started to fill them out and I might have just ended up at a dead end job. These teachers have inspired me to fill them out and go to college.

I know one thing for sure though, I don’t want to fill them out right now, but once they are done and sent out I will be so happy with myself once the acceptance letters start rolling in. And when I finally do get those acceptance letters, that’s were my career will start. So a better life is yet to come.

Sandra Garcia is a senior at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles.