Apply yourself

Each year, thousands of high school seniors eagerly await the arrival of those thick envelopes, containing the letters that validate their past 12 years of hard work and sacrifice — the letters that confirm their admission into the colleges of their dreams.

The diverse backgrounds of these seniors highlight the different struggles and challenges they must face in order to pursue higher education. For many Ivy League hopefuls, applying to college is a familiar process that their parents, who have graduated from college in the U.S., will be able to guide them through. For most first-generation students, they must navigate through the college application process on their own. Different though these students may be, they all share one ultimate goal: to be accepted into college.

Minority report

Senior Anna Szapiro believes that her heritage — she is one-quarter Puerto Rican — is that extra something that admissions boards are looking for, so she makes sure to check both "Hispanic" and "Caucasian" on her application forms. Ultimately, however, she believes that her acceptance or rejection will depend solely on her strength as an applicant — not her race — because she does not look Hispanic. "Being Puerto Rican won't help when I have to be interviewed because [the admissions board] will see that I don't look Hispanic," she says.

Like Szapiro, senior Amanda Liebrecht believes that race plays an important factor in college admissions because colleges are always looking to increase diversity in their schools. She believes she will add to her college's diversity because she is half Spanish. "I've been to Spain, and I've been to Central America. I have friends there, so I do feel like a part of the Spanish culture," she says.

Counting the bills

Senior Abhishek Sinha, 20, moved to the U.S. with his family from India almost three years ago in hopes of pursuing what he calls America's "endless opportunities" and a better education. Although his mother attended college in India, Sinha says she is unable to help him with college applications because she is not familiar with the process in the U.S. "When I ask anybody in my family about anything college-related, they have no idea what I'm talking about," he says.

His greatest concern, however, is not the admissions process but rather the financial burden college will place on his family. Sinha says his family is unable to afford college, so he will be responsible for paying the tuition himself. "When I talk to college representatives and they start talking about money, it really creeps me out," he says. "I have no dad, and there's no way I could stress my mom by asking her to pay for me. Basically, I'm on my own."

Despite the support of the Career Center and his counselor, Sinha remains nervous about being accepted. Sinha says he did not perform well in his classes in India, but he will need to directly transfer his credits to graduate high school: In India, his score of 67 in Chemistry, a solid score
compared to those of other students, will be reflected as a D on his transcript. Sinha believes that students who were born in the U.S. should be grateful they don't have to worry about whether their credits will transfer correctly. "I'm at a disadvantage because classes in India are much harder, but the U.S. system doesn't take that into account," he says.

Senior Andrea Wilkinson also believes she is at a disadvantage because college tuition is "overpriced," she says. She is limited in her college options because most of the colleges she wishes to apply to cost thousands of dollars more than what she is able to afford. Despite attempts to search online for scholarships, Wilkinson says that most scholarships award only a few hundred dollars to a very few number of people.

Nevertheless, Wilkinson claims that more expensive schools provide better educations. In order to pursue a career in physical therapy or criminal law, she believes she will need to go to a top-notch school to provide her with a solid foundation so she can succeed in her field of study. Wilkinson says she will continue searching for more financial aid and scholarship opportunities to help her family pay for her tuition.

The next generation

For senior Sheila Jean, college applications are a maze. Her parents never attended college, so she must research schools and figure out how to apply all on her own. She relies on her relatives who have attended college and her school counselor to help her decide which exams to take and where to apply.

Jean, however, does not believe she is at a real disadvantage compared to students whose parents are more involved in the college application process because she has the drive to succeed. "Even if you don't have parents, if you really want to do something, you'll go and do it," she says.

Similarly, senior Georgette Peligrino receives only minimal help from her mother, who attended college in the Philippines. She has completed all her tests, gathered her application materials and visited two colleges to date. Although her mother is unfamiliar with the process, Peligrino says she is very supportive and willing to help by collecting brochures and contacting college representatives about financial aid. Peligrino says she does not feel disadvantaged, even without a college-savvy parent, because "as long as you concentrate on your studies, you're fine."

In addition, Peligrino has researched several academic programs, including the Latino Nursing Career Opportunity Program offered by the Catholic University of America. According to Justine Griffin, a masters student at the Catholic University School of Nursing, the program, funded by a federal grant, was created to increase the representation of Latinos and other minorities in the field of nursing. Although the Latino population in the U.S. is booming, only about two percent of nurses have a Latino background, she says. The program provides financial aid, tutoring assistance and nursing mentorships to students who wish to pursue an education in the field. "We want kids to aim high," she says. "Nursing is a great field with lots of great opportunities."

Ivy or bust

Of the 10 colleges senior Rebecca Vogel is applying to, seven are listed among the top 15 schools in U.S. News's annual rankings. Vogel has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout high school and scored a 2400 on her SATs. Yet, she says she is still nervous about the entire process because colleges have begun to look past transcripts and test scores and focus more on extracurricular activities.

To enhance her chances of admission, Vogel has completed extensive research on all her prospective schools and has visited seven colleges all across the mid-Atlantic. Her parents both attended college in the U.S. and are very familiar with the application process, she says. Vogel says her parents encourage her to make independent decisions about where to apply, but they are involved enough to support whatever she chooses to do. "Even though I'm doing most of the work, I can still bounce ideas off of them about essay topics and whatnot," she says.

Likewise, senior Jeff Tseng is applying to almost every Ivy League school, as well as Duke, Stanford and the University of Maryland at College Park. Tseng believes his parents' intense pressure on him to attend a top-notch school has played a key role in his college decisions, and he says he will be disappointed if he is not accepted into any of the Ivy Leagues. "I feel like I've worked really hard in high school, so if it doesn't pay off, it was pretty much a waste," he says.

In the meantime, he will continue to gather more information about each college and hopes to add more safety schools to his list. Although his parents are not too familiar with the American college application process because they attended college in Taiwan, he says they have educated themselves by researching online and by speaking with other parents.