Enough time had come. My bachelor’s level ended up being newly in hand, and I decided to accept the first job I had been offered ( it had been the Great Recession and the fear of unemployment was very real). Thankfully, working together with high school seniors as they navigated the college application process turned out to be a great fit for me! I learned many things working at a senior high school (did you know there is a software that calculates the likelihood you are going to obtain a snowfall day?!), and each fall was a concept in exactly how difficult it is to be a 12^th grader.

Senior is tough year! You’re in your most difficult classes to date, you’re dealing with more duties, you’re hitting a milestone virtually every week…and then you are asked by us to college. 12^th grade may never be simple, but you can easily make it less hard. Though each student’s college procedure is unique, you will find a small number of behaviors/mind sets that I have observed cause stress that is unnecessary and time again. Some call them the Four Horseman of the Common Appocalypse (and by some after all me), but they are all avoidable once you learn just how to recognize the signs!

 Focusing too much on everything you can’t change.

Do you keep fretting about that C you’ve got in freshman English? Are you regretting your final decision to quit the track team? Many students invest their senior fall focusing on the past, and it drains their time and energy like Snapchat drains my phone battery pack. Instead of stressing about things you can’t change, spend time writing a well thought out essay, striving for great senior year grades, and putting together the most readily useful application you can. Think upward and onward!

Ignoring the advice of your elders.

Do you nod whenever your counselor speaks then instantly wipe the conversation from your own memory? Do you reject your parents’ guidance https://shmoop.pro/ like it’s your job? I am shocked…really, I am. Keep in mind that, while they might not constantly be ‘hip and with it,’ the adults in your life can offer important understanding of your application process (and also assist you identify your strengths so you can better highlight them). Ignoring their advice can cut you removed from some pretty valuable information, so why not take all the help it is possible to get?

Falling in love.

No, I’m not speaking about the lab partner you’ve possessed a crush on for a long time (them already) though you should really just tell! I am discussing the head-over-heels students that are feeling get for one university on their list. There’s a distinction between having a choice that is first being so fixated on a school which you can’t even fathom going somewhere else. It is called the faculty process for a reason—no one knows exactly how it shall end! Though I sincerely hope you might be admitted to your top choice (and obviously I wish your top choice is USC), I strongly encourage you to help keep an open mind and discover a quantity of institutions you would love to go to.

Avoidance.

Are you currently leaving things to the minute that is last? Are you putting down searching for what supplementary essays you’ll need to create? Are you currently reading this post on January 14th? You are procrastinating! Despite what you may tell yourself, no one works most readily useful under force (trust me…this is a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ situation). Multiple drafts are the key to a good essay, and making significant progress before the eleventh hour is the sole defense against a sloppy application. You have got enough on your own dish year that is senior. If you do not have an agenda yet for how you will complete each of your essays, supplements, applications, etc. make one! You do not desire to rush (or even worse, forget something) in this process. So stop looking over this blog and get to work— you are known by me can do it!

Pupil Highlight: USC Student Body President, Edwin Saucedo

Hey All,

It’s Natalie Guevara and I’m excited to start working with our weblog. While coming up with topic ideas, I looked at common questions we have from prospective students plus one of my favorites is often: what’s it like to be a learning pupil at USC? And although I’m an alumna of the university and had my personal great experiences…I actually want you to hear from current students with a bigger range of majors/involvement/background/etc. So rather than hear about most of the cool things I have to say (many of you get an adequate amount of that), I’ll find current students to let you know about their experiences. The student Body President for the Undergraduate Student Government for our first installment, we have Edwin Saucedo. He is originally from South Gate, CA and is set to graduate this coming May 2017. Some tips about what he’d to state:

Four years ago, I found myself where many of you may be right now: frustrated with my personal statement and tired of searching for the perfect college. It was hard enough attempting to navigate university applications when neither of my parents spoke English or had pursued higher education themselves. The stress of finding the best place to pay the following four years was extremely overwhelming.

As I think straight back at my college application process the first thing i must say is, everything worked out better than I could have ever expected. Whenever I applied to college I never thought i might end up at USC. I expanded up in Southern Gate, CA where just 6% for the population that is total a college degree. It goes without saying, I never imagined I would find myself being the Student Body President my year that is senior right here. The four years in between my senior year of high school and senior year of college have triggered a wide range of classes, experiences, and friendships we never expected. However, the combination of all these unexpected life outcomes has indeed led me to where I am today.

Being pupil Body President at probably one of the most prestigious universities within the nation can be an job that is intimidating. It isn’t easy trying to represent nearly 19,000 students who result from over 100 different countries, are of all various races, and have extremely diverse backgrounds that are economic. However, it’s also a very opportunity that is rewarding. Every i get to go into our student government office and ask myself: how can I make this university a better place for all students day? That is our objective in student government, to create the best undergraduate experience, and that’s why I made the decision to run for this position spring that is last.

I spend at least twenty hours each week listening to pupils’ experiences, asking them exactly how I possibly could be of any service, and connecting them to your channels that are proper this campus. On the other part of things, we advocate on the behalf to administration in efforts generate better campus policies, address any presssing issues, and plan money for hard times of our campus. My part that is favorite however taking the information I discovered from both students and administrators and picking out unique solutions to addressing these issues.

In student government we pride ourselves in being innovators and creative thinkers. We challenge each other’s ideas and provides suggestions on improvements. At the end of the we come up with proposals on how to address each and every issue day. It is through these creative proposals that we’ve been able to get our students uber that is free from 7pm to 2 am and have actually gotten a weekly farmers market on campus. But our work doesn’t end there. Over the span of the year our pupil government places on over 300 events that are free our students. These range between intimate discussions about our education system to bringing speakers like Laverne Cox or performers like Diplo for all of our students to enjoy.

We shape the experience that is undergraduate give students the opportunity to explore perspectives beyond their own; because that is exactly what university is about. Regardless of yourself and be challenged by others whether you go to USC or choose elsewhere as your new home, dare to challenge. As President I always encounter students perspectives that differ from my own, they’re not right or wrong but different, and that is okay.

As you approach the last months of the college application process don’t worry as much about where you can expect to find yourself, but instead that which you will do when you have there. University is time for you to explore and find your passion. I found my passion within student federal government and working towards improving USC for present and students that are future. For you, that passion might lie in another activity. Regardless, enjoy your final months of high school and get prepared to embark in a new journey complete of unique and exciting experiences. Good luck on applying to college and that we always Fight On if you ever get disillusioned, remember that what makes Trojans strong is!