Seniors at Aliso Niguel High School prepared for their futures after highschool by writing their college essays during the Challenge Accepted Event on Oct. 12-13, 2023.
The Challenge Accepted Event was a school hosted experience in which all of Aliso Niguel’s seniors were required to participate in. From Oct. 12-13, seniors were excused from their english classes in order to attend a writing workshop for their college essays.
All high schools within the Capistrano Unified School District also had their own Challenge Accepted events for seniors, but on different days.
The importance of this event was heavily stressed for all seniors in hopes that in the one session required, most will be able to ask questions, receive answers and ultimately finish their essays for their desired college.
Mrs. Nguyen is a College Counselor at Aliso Niguel High School. She and the rest of the counseling staff worked diligently to plan and prepare the event. Mrs. Nguyen said, “This is an awesome opportunity for seniors to get one-on-one support from an expert.”
Prior to the event, participating students had the ability to choos e which sessions they wished to attend. The classes to choose from were: UC, CSU, Community College, Common App and Military/CTE. All classes were offered to all students despite grades or extracurriculars.
For all the classes, different college councils were present in the rooms alongside the students. These individuals were experts in their specified colleges, helping the students in attendance in any way possible.
Nishant Saripall is a senior this year who attended two sessions, one for Common App and the other for Community College. He hopes to attend Community College and once ready, transfer out of state. When asked about the instructors, he said, “both them [were] actually very helpful as they took me through the process of actually applying to each one and explaining to me how to apply at home.”
Counselors not only helped with the writing of students’ essays, but also provided guidance and preparation of the following steps of the application process.
Bora Vanli (12), participated in the Challenge Accepted Event on Thursday. He attended the University of California’s specified class in Portable 25. He said they helped the attendees “input our classes into the application and help prepare us for the PIQs (personal insight questions).”
In the classes, the multiple instructors guided and answered questions. In addition, they prepared the students for the additional questions asked by the colleges. Because of this, many have positively benefited from the experience. Without the event, students would have been left to attempt the daunting application process all by themselves.
The stress of life after high school and the application process weighs on all seniors across the nation. The burden wards many away from their potentially bright futures. Aliso Niguel High School attempts to break the stigma for its students by providing an easy going and helpful experience for all seniors, attempting to provide the best possible future for all the students in the class of 2023.
