LOS ALAMITOS, Calif.– On Monday, September 8, Los Alamitos High School seniors sacrificed their late start morning to gather for Senior Summit, an almost hour-long college application crash course intended for them to learned all about important dates and deadlines, the first steps to applying to college and what they should expect this school year regarding their pursuit of higher education. Led by Los Alamitos High School guidance counselors Mr.Riehm, Mrs. Davenport, Mrs.Riekenberg, Mr.Garcia, Mrs. Ledterman and Mrs. Schaeffer, students were provided with an informational packet, outlining each step of the process and presenting the information in an engaging and easily digestible format. Suggesting developing a timeline and approaching this tedious process in increments, seniors settled in for a startling amount of information.
Counselors each alternated in detailing a specific part of the process, ensuring that students understand the difference between safety schools, target schools and reach schools, and approximately how many of each to apply to. Counselors asked students to provide specific examples of each type of school to check for understanding. They stressed the importance of developing a college list, creating accounts for the Common Application, the University of California applications and the California State University application and starting the letter of recommendation process. The focus in the room was palpable. They compared and contrasted the differences in applying to different types of colleges: community, in-state, out-of-state and private institutions, and provided students with resources such as californiacolleges.edu and Parchment to streamline the process of preloading grades and helping them send official transcripts.
Perhaps most importantly, counselors alerted students to their involvement in their application process, the importance of correctly inputting their respective counselors’ emails within the application and assured students that they are ready and eager to help them via their one-on-one meetings, which seniors can schedule.
Concluding the presentation, guidance counselor Mr. Riehm said that his ultimate tip for seniors in completing their applications is confidence.
“Confidence that we’re here to help them along the way, that students are confident that they can get through this because other students have confidence that we have all the resources, night events, college workshops, webinars. So students can say, I don’t feel lost,” Riehm said.
As seniors start the transition away from high school and into adulthood, the LAHS community wants them to know that they’re there, cheering them along.
“All the counselors are so excited because we have gone through it ourselves, and we’ve seen such incredible development in our own lives. We want that for them as well,” said Riehm.
Students can attest to the sense of readiness and determination they now feel after being equipped with the tools to start this journey.
“It was organized, and I felt like I now know what I’m supposed to do. I am motivated to apply to college,” said Senior Yara Saddeh.
