Frequently Asked Questions

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A: History/Social Science - 2 Years Required

(Including 1 year of U.S. History and 1 year of Social Science)

B: English - 4 Years Required

(4 years of college preparatory English Composition and Literature)

C: Mathematics - 3 Years Required/4 Recommended

(Including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, or higher mathematics)

D: Laboratory Science - 2 Years Required/3 Recommended

(Including 1 Biological Science and 1 Physical Science)

E: Foreign Language - 2 Years Required/3 Recommended

(2 years of the same language)

F: Visual and Performing Arts - 1 Year Required

(Dance, Drama or Theater, Music, or Visual Art)

G: College Preparatory Electives - 1 Year Required

(Additional year chosen from the "a-g" list)

A-G Requirements: A high school student wanting to go to a university in the CSU or UC system must fulfill specific courses in high school that meet the minimum admission requirements. Those course requirements are all arranged into specific categories, from A-G - thus the term, A-G requirements. There are 7 core subject categories with many class options available through each.

Weighted GPA: Weighted GPA includes the extra points added in from the higher level courses taken, such as honors or advanced placement. This is based on a 5.0 scale.

Unweighted GPA: A student’s unweighted GPA is the overall grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

FAFSA: FAFSA stands for: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. A FAFSA is an application that determines a students' need and eligibility for financial aid. The FAFSA is for students who are U.S. Citizens. There really is no income that is "too high" that does not allow you to apply, and every student should apply to see how much they could receive. In the end, it can only reduce your college tuition!

Merit-based scholarships: Merit scholarships are financial awards given to a student for their success in high school. These scholarships are mostly awarded for academic success but are given to students that demonstrate strong civic engagement, artistic abilities, and or other special cases.

SAT Superscore: An SAT Superscore is a student's highest score from each section, taken from more than 1 SAT that they took, to make up a higher score altogether. Universities like Boston University, Harvard, New York University, USC, or University of Miami allow superscoring!

Fee waivers: Qualifying for a fee waiver means that you will be waived, or allowed to not, pay for a fee. In the instance of a college application fee waiver, if you qualify, you won't need to pay for the application which tends to cost $70. An SAT fee waiver means that you will be allowed to register and take the SAT free of charge.

PSAT: The PSAT is a preliminary SAT - a practice exam for the SAT created by College Board that tests students’ reading, writing, and math skills.

College Preparatory(CP): CP courses in high school are the standard classes that are designed to prepare high school students for a higher institution - college/university.

Honors(H) Courses: Honors classes are higher level than CP, but driven by the same curriculum. The difference is the courses are more rigorous, fast paced, and more in-depth. Honors courses were created for those students who want more of a challenge.

Advanced Placement(AP) Courses: AP courses were designed by College Board so that high school students would get a chance to receive college credit by taking an exam. These classes are designed to test your ability on the subject you took throughout the year. The benefit to learning in these courses and excelling in the exams is: students who pass every, or even one exam they take in high school can earn their undergraduate degree much faster and save money!

International Baccalaureate(IB): IB is an international program developed to give students more of a global education. You can take IB courses and the exams individually, but these courses were designed so that students would be driven to complete the IB Diploma Program. In order to earn the diploma a student must take the classes from the six subject groups - three classes must be taken at the “high level” and not “standard level,” and a student must pass the IB exams. This diploma has huge advantages as it could help you fulfill all your General Education classes in college. Meaning that you will get college credit with this diploma and will not need to spend more time or money in college.

Early Action(EA): An option during the admissions process to submit your applications before the regular deadline. With this, you receive your decision earlier.

Early Decision(ED): An option to submit your application, to your first-choice college, before the regular deadline. You do receive a decision earlier. ED is binding, meaning that if admitted, you must attend/enroll into the school.

Rolling Admission: An admission policy that allows students to submit applications on a rolling basis. There is no set deadline for the school by which you need to submit all your materials. As long as space permits, the school will consider your application and notify you as soon as possible.

Brag Sheet: Brag sheets are a way for the people you chose to write you a letter of recommendation, to get to know you better so they can write you a good letter of recommendation! This can include counselors. They or other on-campus resources can give you a template/guide to help you write one! Of course, it's a way for you to brag about yourself and what you have done. 

The GI Bill is for qualifying military Veterans and their dependent family members to get money to cover all or some of the costs for college, graduate school or training. If you’re an active-duty service member or Veteran, a member of the National Guard or Reserves, or a qualified survivor or dependent, you need to explore VA education benefits through the GI Bill and other educational assistance programs ASAP so you can start planning your educational path. If you're a dependent child of a Veteran, go to

https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/ for more information and start getting informed about how the GI Bill can help you pay for college!

An SAT Superscore is taking your highest scores from each section of the SAT to make up a higher score overall. 

Your scores can be taken from any date that you took the SAT. So when someone says their superscore, it’s their highest score from each section, taken from more than 1 SAT to make up a higher score altogether.

To give you an idea - if you took the SAT twice; the first time you got a 580 in the English portion and 560 in Mathematics. The second time you took it months later you got a 620 in the English and 520 in Mathematics. Certain schools will allow you to combine the second English score with the first Mathematics score to make up a higher score. Universities like the UC’s do not superscore.

When universities do superscore, the benefit, is of course that you can send in a higher SAT score. Which, as some of you may know, your SAT is a major portion in your college applications.

When universities do not superscore, you will simply just have to pick whichever SAT you feel more confident in sending in as a whole.

Colleges & Universities that DO Superscore!

Boston University

Duke

Harvard

MIT

NYU

Stanford

University of Chicago

Yale

Azusa Pacific University

Baylor University

Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly SLO

CSUCI

CSU Chico

CSU Fullerton

Cal Sate LA

CSUN

CSU Sacramento

University of San Diego

Claremont McKenna College

Washington University

Dartmouth College

The Coalition Application was established just a few years ago in 2015. It is quickly grabbing traction and is accepted by universities that the Common App does not, such as: Texas A&M University, University of Washington Seattle, James Madison University, and more!

Some key facts about applying through the Coalition App:

• Over 150 schools are members of Coalition application and it is safe to say that more schools will soon join this application.
• The Coalition Application requires that you write an essay of your choice from the 5 prompts that they give you; one being completely and entirely your choice! There is no maximum word count, but they do recommend that you keep it between 500-650 words.
• Like the Common App, the prices of the applications do vary between schools but is the same if it were on another application. Thus, one of the school's application that they offer is not cheaper on the Common App or vice versa.
• You will have a chance to record your achievements in high school.
• They do allow letters of recommendations! If you receive a letter of recommendation, you can use it to apply to multiple universities of your choice. If your recommender does not complete their letter of recommendation by the time that you complete your application, you may submit it after!
• A fee waiver is offered by the Coalition Application!

So why is the Coalition Application important to keep in mind? When the time comes, you'll want to apply through the application that offers the most schools you are applying to so that it is easier.

You do not want to spend time applying through both the Common Application and Coalition Application if the Coalition App offers the schools the Common App does. This way you won't need to do anything twice.

Member Schools of the Coalition Application:

Arizona State University

American University

Boston University

Claremont McKenna College

Duke University

Florida State University

Harvard University

Johns Hopkins University

Loyola Marymount University

Penn States

Pomona College

Princeton University

Rice University

Stanford University

University of Chicago

University of Arizona

University of Oregon

Yale

QuestBridge was founded in 1994 with the mission and vision to live in a society where America's leaders are encompassed by every economic segment. They serve high-achieving low-income high school students by alleviating all financial barriers in front of them so that they can attend some of America's most prestigious universities and colleges with full four year scholarships!

So How Does This Work?

Well, the National College Match is a college admission and scholarship process in which these specifically talented students can be admitted early with full four year scholarships to their partnered schools. Some of which are:

Yale University  

Duke University

Claremont McKenna College  

Dartmouth College

Princeton  Brown University

USC  Stanford University

Columbia University  

University of Notre Dame

In late summer, a free online application opens.(NOTE: You can now apply if you're a Senior!) 

Once you submit it by the deadline you then rank up to 12 college partners in order of preference and submit it. From here, finalists are selected. If you are a finalist, you must submit "match requirements." Once this is submitted, the partnered colleges ultimately determine which students they admit and offer the scholarships too. Students then find out if they matched with one of their ranked colleges or universities on Match Day, December 1st. 

If you do not get matched with a college or university, you can review admission opportunities! You may also still receive financial aid.

If you do match, know that it is binding, meaning that you are expected to attend in the fall. During the process, you are expected to have done research into the schools with their Research Worksheet and/or on your own - thus it being binding!

Why is this Better than just Applying Early Action, Early Decision, or Regular Decision?

Financial Aid. As we've mentioned, if you match with a college, you receive a full four year scholarship - worth over $200,000. No parental contribution is needed. No student loans are needed. Your hard work and dedication will cover your tuition and fees, room and board, all school supplies, and travel expenses.

QuestBridge's Unique Application. The National College Match Application gives you more room to speak upon how you excelled and persevered academically despite financial hardship.

Who Qualifies as Low-Income?

"Most of the students who are selected as Finalists come from households earning less than $65,000 per year for a typical family of four with minimal significant assets. However, there are no absolute cut-offs." (QuestBridge.org)

The American Legion Auxiliary Girl's State and the American Legion Boy's State are prestigious summer leadership opportunities that are earned by one female and one male high school junior from every participating high school in California (other states also have Girl/Boy's State programs!).

Teachers, coaches, and administrators are able to nominate model students with exemplary leadership skills for the extensive selection process. The program coordinators will select one Delegate to attend the program. Two alternates are seleceted to replace the delgate should they not be able to attend.

During this program the Delegate will engage in a week-long educational experience that will help strengthen their knowledge of the foundation of the American government system by engaging in political activities such as city-planning, voting, Moot Court, and campaigns for government positions.

Boy's State is traditionally held at California State University in Sacramento, while Girl's state is held at Claremont McKenna College.

This program allows students to meet others with exceptional talents for leadership, and fosters an environment for sisterhood/brotherhood amongst peers through team building exercises.

Read what a Boy's and Girl's State Delegate Alumni have to say about their experience!

"Coming to Boy's State gave me an insight into how local governments play a role in an individual's daily life. Often times, we're too busy focusing on the macro-scale (i.e. state and national government) that we forget how fundamentally important the city and county governments are as well. Boy's State, for me, was both fun and informative, and allowed me to develop a sense of how politics work within local governments." (Lance Pascasio, 2019 Boy's State Delegate)

"Being the only girl in my family, I gained several sisters at Girl's State. While at Girl's State I learned the importance of having people in your corner and being yourself unapologetically. I still talk to my sisters almost every day! My biggest takeaway from Girl's State was definitely having self-confidence and becoming empowered by the successes of others, as well as my own." (Nathaly Castrejon, 2019 Girl's State Delegate)

Prepping and studying for the SAT can be a stressful time for high school students. It can create a lot of pressure for students trying to balance what feels like a hundred things on their to-do list!

There is an upside for students who feel that the SAT does not measure their academic skills well enough. Colleges and universities are now joining the ongoing list of schools that do not require the SAT. However, this does not mean that all of these schools will completely disregard all tests, but rather acknowledge that other factors come into play and or are just as important when choosing applicants. For example, some schools will take the SAT Subject Tests in place.

How is that better? Well because you choose the subject! You can choose your strongest suits and show colleges! Take a look at this list of some colleges and universities that will allow for you to substitute the SAT, or are not too keen on needing one in order for you to apply!

• Ventura College
• Oxnard College
• Moorpark College
• Colorado College
• Pitzer College ("In 2003, Pitzer College announced that it would adopt a test-optional admission policy following a study that proved that there was no direct correlation between academic success at Pitzer and standardized testing.")
• Smith College (A prestigious all-women's college that encourages an interview instead of test scores!)
• Connecticut College
• California State Universities (During a traditional year: If you meet other requirements. Through 2023 academic year: "However, in no case will standardized test scores be utilized in making admissions decisions for applicants during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years.")
• University of Arizona (“Ambition required, test scores are not.”)
• American University
• NYU (NYU has one of the most flexible testing policies! You can choose from a variety of options)
• George Washington University
• St John’s University
• James Madison University
• Wake Forest University

Sources:

https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/freshman/getting_into_the_csu/pages/admission-requirements.aspx

https://admissions.arizona.edu/how-to-apply/test-scores

https://www.american.edu/admissions/first-year/test-optional.cfm

https://www.nyu.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/how-to-apply/standardized-tests.html

https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/first-year-application-process

https://www.stjohns.edu/admission/undergraduate-admission/application-requirements/test-optional

https://www.jmu.edu/admissions/apply/freshman-application-process.shtml

https://admissions.wfu.edu/apply/test-optional/

https://www.pitzer.edu/admission/test-optional-policy/

https://www.smith.edu/admission-aid/criteria

https://www.conncoll.edu/admission/apply/standardized-test-policy/