With the majority of college admissions decisions due to be released this March, a heavy cloud of anxiety surrounds many seniors at West. Even for non-seniors, questions surrounding future careers can be overwhelming. Luckily, College and Career Day looks to answer those questions and help ease some of that anxiety. On Oct. 11, scattered across campus, all West students went about their day a little differently according to their grade levels.
Freshmen spent their day in one-hour-long workshops that each focused on a different topic to help them target possible career interests and learn essential skills for their future — such as how to write an email correctly, what not to post on social media, and so on. Sophomores, as always, took the Pre-ACT, and Juniors took the PSAT — practice versions of the standardized tests some colleges require for applications.
Seniors began their day by taking a class panoramic picture and then attended workshops they booked on Schoology — each designed to help with some part of the college application process or any other post-graduation plans. The workshops ranged from time in the library to work on college applications with the support of counselor, to learning more about financial aid, to listening to speakers’ advice on how to ace college essays. As opposed to any other typical school day, where the stress of regular academic classes may take up free time that can be used for college work, seniors were given the perfect opportunity to solely focus on their applications.
College and Career Day is meant to accomplish something slightly different for each grade, but as College and Career counselor Mr. Vick described, “It’s a space for a lot of seniors that are unable to find enough time at home to get applications done. . . it just kind of alleviates some academic stress.”
Abigail Park (12) commented that she found the work time especially useful, saying, “Most of the time, I’m too busy to do college applications at home, except on weekends.” Park noted, “I also really liked having specific workshops for majors and applying to certain schools. It was a nice time to just focus on that.” In addition to the more general workshops covering financial aid and college essays, El Camino hosted its own workshops, and many four-year universities at the College and Career fair provided students with the opportunity to learn about specific schools they may be interested in.
On a big-picture scale of what College and Career Day is meant to accomplish, Mr. Vick explained it’s all about as much exposure as soon as possible. As early as freshman year, students are introduced to a four-year-long process so they aren’t rushing to complete college applications halfway through senior year. Mr. Vick also expressed the importance of starting early, building up a firm foundation of extracurriculars and academics that will best help them later on. While the future might seem uncertain for some students, College and Career Day might just sketch them a rough idea.
