On March 6, 2024, Aliso Niguel High School hosted a College Night for current sophomores and juniors in the theater at 6 p.m. During College Night, Mrs. Nguyen, the College and Career Counselor, and Mr. Mocnick, one of Aliso’s Assistant Principals, presented information about the steps students and parents need to take when beginning to think about college and their student’s future.
At 6 p.m., Mrs. Nguyen began a presentation all about college applications and what to expect when students are beginning their college journey. She discussed topics such as the academic plan created by students, the college planning timeline, different pathways to college, college selectivity, the state of college applications, admission factors, A-G requirements, testing, college fit factors, exploration tools, application timeline and what roles parents should take during this process.
Mr. Mocnick opened the presentation by chatting to the parents and students about the academic plan that every sophomore and junior were expected to complete earlier this semester.
Shortly after, Mrs. Nguyen explained the college planning timeline that all students should be following in order to plan for their success. Ninth and tenth graders should be focusing solely on understanding the A-G requirements and the admissions process so that they are taking the proper courses and understanding their strengths.
Eleventh graders should be creating college lists. These lists should consist of ten or less colleges that the student desires to apply to based on their desired career and major.
Twelfth graders will be enduring the application process during the first semester of their senior year while applying for financial aid as well.
After the timeline, Mrs. Nguyen elaborated on the different pathways that students can take after they graduate high school. Those paths include going straight to a four-year university, enrolling in a transfer program at a community college or taking a gap year. Statistics show that most students who have graduated from Aliso Niguel have taken the community college route which saves them lots of money and allows for a smoother transition into college life.
Selectivity of colleges and different admission factors were discussed next. Selectivity of a school is the school’s acceptance rate which should be researched by every student who desires to attend that college.
When the application gets submitted, the most important portion of the application is grades. The grades a student has received in their sophomore and junior years are the foundation of their application.
The Admission Committees at most colleges will look at the students’ GPA in all courses from sophomore and junior year first, then the rigor of the student’s high school schedule and lastly, character. Character includes the students’ positive character attributes, college essays, letters of recommendation and their extracurriculars.
The A-G requirements are a very vital part of college applications. The A-G requirements are 15-year-long courses that students must complete to meet the minimum admission requirements for Cal State, Universities or out of state schools.
In order for a course to count towards the A-G requirement, the student must get a C or higher in the class. If they receive anything lower than a C, then the course no longer counts.
Many have been confused about the ACT and SAT testing due to the ever changing rules and requirements. Mrs. Nguyen explained to parents and students that most of the time only the highly selective schools will require students to input their scores on their ACT or SAT; therefore, if the student plans to apply to schools that are not highly selective, they will not be required to take either test.
While eleventh graders are creating their lists of colleges they wish to apply to, Mrs. Nguyen advises them to make sure they “fit” in with the school. What she means by this is that the student needs to be sure that they like the social aspect, location, athletics and religious affiliation of the school.
Along with that, the student needs to complete credential matching to ensure that they have met the requirements that the school has created for student applications.
In order to find schools that will be a good fit for the student, parents and students can use websites like CaliforniaColleges.edu to search for schools that fit the students desires for their future college experience.
When starting to apply, students should have finalized their college list by the summer before their senior year. Then, during senior year, students should be applying for colleges from August to December. Lastly, in the spring, students will be receiving their college decision and committing to their college.
To wrap up her presentation, Mrs. Nguyen told the parents that they need to let their students take the lead on their application process while guiding them. Additionally, they need to make sure their student is meeting the A-G requirements.
Mrs. Nguyen’s overall goal for College Night was to “allow students and parents to gain a basic knowledge of the college admission process in order to help students plan for their future while comforting them by demonstrating the vast amount of college options available to them.”
Many parents and students asked questions after the presentation that were specific to their current situations. Everyone in the theater left with more information about the college application process and what to expect in the future.
Kusuma Vasireddy (11) says, “I thought the presentation was very enlightening. I learned a lot about what I need to be doing right now to prepare myself for my future. I think that all students planning on attending college should have been there for the presentation for the information and for the comfort of knowing what is to come.”
