Written by Sofia Bohorquez
Three of our mantas put together a panel discussing and giving advice for college admissions. Laura Sandoval (Princeton ’25), Nikola Desnica (Columbia ’25), and Ari Barbella (Stanford ’25) were the three panelists, speaking directly to juniors right before they filled out their last subject selection sheet of highschool. The advice wasn’t specific to which courses a student should select; instead, the panelists focused on sharing important tips for junior year to ease the college application process and encourage success in high school. The presentation had five significant takeaways:
1. Setting Priorities: Laura Sandoval’s presentation explains that juniors should be focusing on several things, but in regards to college admissions, it is most important to focus on performing well in school, preparing for standardized tests, and practicing writing for personal statements.
2. Academics: Overall, academics are important in the admissions process as well. Students should focus on maintaining their goal GPA or raising it to reach their desired one. “Keep up your attendance attending school will impact your performance and participation in school,” says Laura as she stresses the importance of attending class, which she acknowledges as possibly being difficult when learning from home. She also highlighted the importance of creating a resume as a way to share accomplishments with others! Juniors should also begin thinking about the 1-4 recommenders they might need; they should “focus on building a good relationship with potential recommenders.” said the panelists.
3. Extra-Curriculars: The Common App and other application platforms ask students to provide an activities list that describes the extracurriculars they participated in during high school. Laura makes it clear in this presentation that colleges are “not looking for students or participating in 15+ activities; they’re looking for you to be passionate about what you devoted your time to and how you showed consistency and drive.” The panelists stressed the importance of cohesion in college applications. You should ask yourself, did you spend a long time doing these? Did you just sign up to fluff up your resume? Are you passionate about this? It is also essential to try and take on leadership positions—when you’re actually passionate about them—to show colleges that you are mature enough to handle them and determined to take charge.
4. Mental Health: Throughout this presentation, Laura addresses the importance of prioritizing yourself and your mental health throughout this lengthy process. It is important to “eat, exercise, practice self-care, even meditate if it helps you to remain grounded.” This is necessary to make sure that you can complete the tasks previously described while still nurturing your body.
5. Habits: Building habits such as planning out your time, intuitive eating, focusing on friendships, prioritizing yourself, breathing exercises, meditating, and many other things that may help you specifically are important! ‘It is important to create habits now that will help in the future,” says Nikola Desnica.
After this, the panel opened the floor to questions! A few topics were addressed, including whether to take AP or DE classes, the answer to which was that “both show rigor to colleges, but most out of state schools will not accept DE credits!” says Ari Barbella. Secondly, “ACT or SAT?” is an often-asked question that Nikola answered; he stated, “It depends on your testing preferences. I’d say do a practice test of each and see how you feel.” Lastly, the panel addresses time management, where Laura suggested setting up a to-do list or schedule using Google Docs or Google Sheets.
Once these points were addressed, each panelist made it clear that their goal was to offer advice to the upcoming class, guiding them through these rough times in a way they wish they would have received when they were in their shoes.