<p>Hi everyone. I have no idea what I should be doing now. After reading everyone's extra curriculars, I feel like I wasted my high school career. I did a lot of volunteer service hours and other things too, but I don't have anything to stand out with. </p>
<p>I don't know where to start for college applications. I know I want to go to the UC's or maybe the Cal states. Should I start writing an essay? What should I be doing now as a senior? Any advice? Would baking be a good ec and college topic? How about if I did marching band for one year and am continuing on to this year, would colleges think that I didn't do it long enough? Thank you. I'm totally lost about college aps. I don't have any older siblings to help me and my parents don't know anything either. They just tell me to start, but I don't know where to start. Thanks for reading this, I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Start with a resume if you havent dont that already. Also, do anything that your school requires you to do (we have to fill out a senior profile). Then look over the common app (if your schools take that), fill that out, and move onto your essays last. I say that because I fell like you can write a better essay once you have the rest of your app filled out and you can see where your strengths lie</p>
<p>Starting always the hardest part! I would start by brainstorming for your UC essays. Think about significant events in your life, memorable occasions, and things you love doing. @NCBoy 1, unfortunately with UC, you can’t actually start working on the application until November 1st (somebody else correct me if that’s wrong). Though you could start brainstorming and writing out your ECs in a resume as suggested…</p>
<p>I think baking could be a great topic, with enough work and effort.</p>
<p>I would recommend against starting a new EC this year - it would show superficiality - but continuing with old ones is always a plus. Also, don’t worry too much about ECs for UCs and CSUs. All these CC people are soooo amazing, but ECs matter most at Ivies and other top schools, where the schools have enough applicants that they can pick based on ECs and such things. You haven’t wasted your high school career </p>
<p>Good luck with everything, and remember that a lot of people have not started yet, but CC is full of Type As and worrywarts like myself</p>
<p>UC Topics:</p>
<pre><code>Prompt #1 (freshman applicants)
Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
Prompt #2 (all applicants)
Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?
</code></pre>
<p>Make an appointment to see your guidance counselor ASAP. They can fill in some gaps, let you know what their process is (limits to applications, timeframes for sending supplemental materials, etc). You can also get a copy of your transcript to look for errors and to make sure that you met all the course requirements for UCs.If you need a class, they can switch your schedule. Not all GCs are great, but you can find out from them whether your stats, EC and test scores are in line with certain UCs. </p>
<p>Also, ask for teacher recommendations right away. </p>
<p>Now is also a good time to sit down with your parents and talk about your finances. Run the FAFSA calculator to get a good idea of the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). That is the amount that estimeates what your family will need to provide for your education. If it is higher than your family thinks that you can afford, you will need to look at outside scholarships, applying to schools that offer merit aid and other alternatives. Since you are in California, also check into your community colleges. Many have direct admission policies that allow you to do two years at community college and then have guaranteed acceptance into most UCs. </p>
<p>You don’t need teacher recs for Cal State and UC. Your GPA and standardized test scores will be far more important for these schools than your ECs, so don’t worry about those. </p>
<p>Baking is a fine EC. The world needs more home-baked cookies! It can be more than a hobby, as well. I’ve read about a woman who dropped out of law school to start a baking business after she realized that she was enjoying making muffins for her study groups more than reading case law. </p>
<p>Things you should do now (as in right now, don’t wait on these):</p>
<p>1) Money. Have a talk with your parents about how much they can afford to spend on your college education. Run a FAFSA estimator like [FinAid</a> | Calculators | QuickEFC](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Quick EFC - Finaid) to get an idea of how much colleges will expect your family to contribute per year. Compare this to the cost of going to a UC or a CSU. If the UC or CSU cost will be more than you and your parents can afford to pay, ask for help about what to do on the Financial Aid forum.</p>
<p>2) Testing. Make sure that you have the required standardized testing completed or scheduled, such as SAT Subject tests and the SAT I or ACT.</p>
<p>3) UC a-g requirements. Make sure that these are completed or scheduled for your senior year. </p>
<p>Come back and ask questions if/when you get stuck.</p>
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