By Lauren Tingley, College OPTIONS Tehama Advisor

Nov. 30 may have seemed like just another day to most of us, but for graduating seniors this was a very important date. In California, Nov. 30 is the deadline for students to apply for admission at any California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus, if they plan to enter as a freshman in the fall of 2014. During the months of October and November College Options advisors have been partnering with local high schools to make sure that students are given support during the application process. 

In addition to the university applications that are available College Options has worked with local community colleges including Butte, Shasta and College of the Siskiyous to make sure that students have a variety of colleges available to apply to. Typically, community colleges do not open their applications or incoming freshman until spring, so in the past, students who chose to attend community colleges were told, “you will have to apply later”. Whether they are applying to a trade school, community college, or university we want students to understand there is help available and they can start the process now. 

Some may feel that students don’t need help with the process and that they should be able to do it entirely on their own. However, there are many places where students can run into difficulty. “When I applied to college it was a piece of paper and I filled it out with a pencil”, says Lauren Tingley, College Options advisor. “Now the entire process is online and can be very confusing. Students and parents are often overwhelmed and they want to make sure they complete the application accurately. Many students in our area do not have internet access at home and that barrier alone makes in almost impossible to apply to college on their own.” 

In order to remove some of those barriers this year Mercy, Corning, Red Bluff, Salisbury and Los Molinos High Schools have each hosted a college application day for seniors. Typically staffed by counselors and College Options advisors the goal of the day is for students to learn how to complete a college application. “This process is completed with the understanding that not every student will enroll in college next year, but we want them to leave high school having learned how to apply to college if they choose do to so in the future”, says Stacey Garrett, College Options advisor. 

“It was very comforting to have support on campus from people who have helped hundreds of students before us, since we are going through the process for the first time,” said Garrett Ward, senior at Red Bluff High School. 

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Published in the Red Bluff Daily News on 12/14/2013