As our graduating class of 2026 is getting closer and closer to graduating, applications have been a recurring topic. Because of this, we’ve decided to interview three seniors here at CI — all going through different career/academic paths — about their experiences with college applications. We all know that there are many options for graduates; they can go to a 4-year college, a 2-year college, a trade school, straight to the work force, or even join the military. However, the most popular option seems to be either a 2-year or 4-year college.
The question is what students thought about college applications- were they easy, stressful, or something else entirely?
Rick Iniguez is the Channel Island High School overall ASB president as well as a member of multiple clubs and organizations such as Key Club, Boys Tennis, EAOP, and Upward Bound. He has ambitious goals, hoping to get into UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UCSD as an engineering major.
He specifically applied to UCLA with a major in civil engineering and UCSD majoring in structural engineering with a specialization in civil engineering. Other colleges he applied to were CSUF, Cal Poly Slo, SDSU, UC Irvine, and UC Davis.
For many students, college applications seem to be a stressful topic, and it was no different for Iniguez. Not only were applications time consuming, but it became especially difficult for him what with all of the demands that came from ASB, AP classes, and home life.
“I found very little time to squeeze in my college apps,” said Iniguez, “but I did it and locked in during Thanksgiving break.”
As a senior, Iniguez wishes to advise upcoming seniors to make sure to start early on other projects or events before October and November because that is the prime time to submit college applications, the FAFSA application, scholarship application, and to overall, tie the knot.
He also suggests finding volunteer opportunities to “tremendously impact and commit to doing many hours towards.”
Vivianna Juarez had a similar experience with the application process. She is also a part of ASB, as well as EAOP and Upward Bound, and aspires to be a journalist. She has written for the Isle File briefly and even wrote for an established newspaper. She applied to CSULB, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UCSB, and CSUF; and hopes to be accepted into CSULB, UCLA, and Berkeley. All applications were under a communications or journalism major.
For Juarez, the process was pretty stressful, but she was grateful for the support she got from the UBCI program (Upward Bound Channel Islands). UBCI had been a huge help to her due to their college application workshops, essay/PIQ (personal insight questions) reviews, and advice.
“I think the hardest part was the PIQs, but with the correct people reviewing it it becomes much easier,” said Juarez.
As advice to upcoming seniors, Juarez suggests writing your PIQ drafts early, whether it be now or a few months before starting your senior year, because it is a long process. Since applicants must answer four PIQs in total in order to submit a UC application, they must take their time writing them in order to write with as much detail as possible for each question; all within a 350 word limit.
Due to the amount of time it takes to write the drafts, get them reviewed and edited, and finally submit them, Juarez believes “it would save a lot of stress to simply start them now.”
As for Susan Santiago, her perspective is quite different. While others may have applied to a plethora of colleges, mostly for security, Santiago only applied to Ventura community college. Keeping things simple helped her preserve a peaceful state of mind, so her experience was not stress inducing at all.
“I feel that the process of applying was pretty simple and wasn’t stressful at all,” said Santiago. “The application was easily accessible online and I had help from the counselors on campus.”
Despite the simple choice of applying to a single college, Santiago was not a slacker of any sort. She participates in Key club as well as ASB and keeps a pretty good GPA. Not to mention, she has a clear goal and plan to achieve it. “After two years at VC, I hope to attend CSUN or CSULB to study in child development,” Santiago said.
Her advice to any upcoming seniors is to use their time wisely and to “not slack off.” She further suggests using the resources provided for you like workshops or presentations; these resources are much more helpful than you would think. Usually these workshops are provided by EAOP, UBCI, and the college & career center, so make sure to look into those programs here at CI.
College applications, due to their importance, can be incredibly stressful for students. While everyone’s experiences will be different, all three seniors interviewed echoed that it is important to recognize the hard work that goes into your academics and participation in extracurriculars, and not lose focus of the main goal.
If you’re worried about applying to college in the future, start writing those PIQ drafts early , add to your brag sheet, and talk to your counselor about your options after high school.
