College Success
Volunteering can help you determine what fields interest you. This can be beneficial if you are unsure of what paths/fields you want to go into or even if you have multiple interests. Now that you know why volunteering is important, where do you start? At first it can be overwhelming because there is no “right” way to begin volunteering or where to look. Look no further! Let’s Go has created this blog to guide you through some steps you can take to find a place for you!
How to Volunteer
- Think about fields that interest you. Medicine, education, law? After you have a vague idea, you can begin searching! It does not have to be super specific (remembering that volunteering is for exploring).
- Use Google to find organizations near you! A simple google search can reveal cites you may have been unaware of entirely. Try something as simple as “immigration law office near
Explore your interests
If you’re still unsure of your interests, you can volunteer to start narrowing your focus. It’s a good idea to expose yourself to what’s out there. In addition, employers and graduate schools alike value experience strongly; the sooner you find a sector/field to grow in, the more impressive you can be!
Develop Skills
Now it’s time to enhance your skills! When you begin volunteering, you may find that your responsibilities grow. You will develop skills that school is sometimes unable to teach you. Additionally, these skills are often transferable and can be taken with you at multiple jobs!
Boost your resume
Not to mention, volunteer experience looks great on your resume. It lets employers know that you care about local organizations! Also, it is a good idea to begin volunteering during your high school years or early college years so that you can eventually begin applying for paid internships.
Make connections
Organizations and companies have tons of connections. belonging to these networks will allow you to have connections within this field that can lead to bigger opportunities.
Let’s Get Started
- First, find your interests:
- Brainstorm the fields that interest you.
- Then, google organizations near you:
- Use Google to find organizations near you! Try something as simple as “immigration law office near me.”
- Finally, send emails:
- Now, go to their website and email them to ask about volunteer opportunities.
- After finding a contact email, try a template like this:
Template for sending an email
This is just one example to get you started! In addition, you can also search up templates for free on Google.
” Hello [person you are addressing]!
My name is [your name] and I am a current [grade level] at [your school]. I am writing to express interest in your organization/company. I have always been interested in [the field the organization is in]. Is there space at [organization/company name] for me to volunteer with your day-to-day tasks?
I would love to chat with you about myself and my current abilities. I look forward to hearing back from you!
Best,
[your name] ”
Ultimately, volunteering helps you gain experience! You got this. Best of luck! Go put yourself out there!
HS & First Year Students
By: Paratum Scholars and Let’s Go Team
Discovering “You” & Determining Your Core Values
Discovering who “you” are doesn’t mean you have to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life. High school students change their minds often; don’t worry–college students do too. In the context of the college search and application process, discovering “you” means diving into one’s self and asking what social, academic, and financial components are important to you at this time and how these factors correlate to the different colleges that you may be considering. Ask yourself:
- Do you see yourself in small places with your peers and professors, or are you looking forward to constantly seeing new faces at a large campus?
- Are you seeking an environment where your peers challenge you academically, or do you prefer a more collaborative, laid-back culture?
- Are you the type of student who wants to make your mark by playing an integral role in many different areas on campus, or are you more comfortable being a participant and not committing fully to any one particular area?
There is no right or wrong answer here, however, these are the values you need to focus first as you begin researching where you will be applying to for college.
The “Perfect College” does not exist
- You will soon discover that there is no such thing as the “perfect college”, and as you continue to research, you will learn that one school may check off many items on your “must-have” list, but not everything that is important to you.
- As you identify these important things and what colleges can offer, it is important to narrow down your values to a set of three-to-four core-values. These core-values are aspects important to you in your college search that you will never waiver on when determining your final college list. Ultimately, you will know if your list is right for you if every single school on your list should share most, if not all, of your core-values.
The College Essay Podcast: “Episode: 109: How to Figure Out Which School is Right for You with Dr. Steven Antonoff”
Being in the college search and application process requires so much self-introspection, it is important for you, the high school student, to take significant time during your junior and senior years’ reflection on your high school experience and what you have taken away from it up until this point.
Certain questions you may ask yourself:
- What have you liked/disliked about high school
- What areas do you excel in or are you passionate about
- Who challenges you or what problems do you want to fix in this world
Colleges want to know what makes you unique, know about your experiences and how it has shaped you moving towards this new and exciting chapter in your life. What you discover about yourself will most certainly help you when it is time to research colleges and curate your final draft.
This episode on the College Essay Podcast by Steven Antonoff can be found here.
Where Do I Start?
Corsava is a free platform for high school students that allows you to build a clear path and take ownership of your college journey.
- You will discover what’s important to you by first performing a virtual card sort, which is a fun, interactive way to discover your deeper college preferences.
- After the card sort, you will be given your own personalized Corsava report. This provides a great visual representation of specific values that are important to you.
- Your Corsava list can be modified at any time and it is encouraged you do to readdress values important to you as you continue to grow and develop in high school. Corsava can also assist you in generating a list of colleges based on your Corsava report that aligns with your values.
- In short, Corsava is a recommended tool to begin this self-exploration process because it allows you to make a more informed decision about your college based on what is important to you.
Personality Tests
These can help you learn more about strengths and weaknesses, plus preferences in your personal and professional lives which can definitely be interesting and intriguing.
- Remember, these tests are never 100% accurate, however, they are a snapshot of what your personality may look like at the time you take it. Personalities continue to grow and evolve until the age of 25-27 so approach it as a fun exercise. Rest assured, the results will not predict or determine your destiny.
- It is not recommended that you pay money for a personality test considering all of the free resources on the Internet. A free resource recommended is “16 Personalities”.
Remember, self-awareness requires taking the time to dive into yourself and identify what is important to you and why. By doing this, not only will you be able to make more thoughtful decisions on why a particular institution may be a good fit for you, but also why it is important for you to invest your time and energy into that particular application process.
About Paratum Scholars
Chuck Liddiard is the Founder and Executive Director of The Paratum Scholars, a 501c(3) non-profit whose vision is to empower students to discover their college, their passion and their path. Learn more about The Paratum Scholars and follow them on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
College Success
By
MONICA AGUILERA
Boba-drinking, Zelda-playing, Horror-watching brown girl from Oaxacalifornia.
Inspired by @envikatonya’s viral Tiktok video sharing her favorite chrome extensions to use for online learning, we have gathered other extensions that can be useful for you as a college student! These extensions vary from cite machines, studying timers, online highlighters and notetaking, and more. Check them out and download them to get the most out of your Google Chrome experience.
Essay Writing
One Tab: Puts all open tabs into one
Workona: Separate tabs into different folders and saved for the next time you need them
Weava: separates tabs into different workspace and all tabs you need are ready, rest are saved
Zotero/MyBib: citing your sources
Grammarly: spelling and grammar check
Studying
PodCastle: converts website into realistic podcasts for when you have to read longer articles
Pomodoro Timer: timer to keep track of your studying
Picture-by-Picture: video watching while on another tab
OneLine: highlights one line of text making it easier for folks w/ dyslexia, ADHD
Night Shift Redux: changes the color of webpages to restrict eye-straining
Miscellaneous
Coffeeling: daily mood tracker
College Success
Everyone says that starting college is a very exciting part of your life but no one really talks about the stress that comes with preparing for college. There are things you need to figure out such as: will you be living on campus or with family? How will you get to and from school? When thinking of commuting you need to take in consideration a checklist that would make your commuting experience more enjoyable. Here are some tips to make your commute easier:
Staying Safe
Whether you are commuting by public transportation or by your own vehicle, one of the most important things is staying safe. Sometimes you may stay in school very late and by the time you head home it is dark or you may need to leave home very early in the morning. No matter the time, here are some tips on staying safe:
Pepper spray, taser and emergency car kit are all helpful tools that can be used during an emergency. Read the instructions on how to properly use these tools and only use them for emergencies.
Android and Apple have an emergency mode on smartphones to help during difficult situations. Depending on the company, these programs allow you to add emergency contacts, call emergency services and put your phone on ultra power saving mode.
More information for apple users, samsung, and android users.
Nutrition
Sometimes you are running late and forget to make yourself breakfast or maybe you did not pack lunch. One way to avoid this is by meal planning! There are many ways to meal plan, it is done according to your lifestyle. If you have never meal planned before, here is a some tips for beginners:
When meal planning, it is important to save on produce! Here are some guides to CalFresh, SNAP, and food banks that may be available near you.
Entertainment
Have a long commute? One of the discouraging things about having a long commute is knowing how to fill in the time.
Student discounts for Apple Music and Spotify
If you have an exam that day, you can review your notes or study guides on the way to school. This is helpful because you are briefly reviewing your notes before your exam to make sure you don’t forget some last minute details.
Discounted Bus Passes for Students
If you will be taking public transportation to get to and from school, you will need a bus pass. The cost for a bus pass can accumulate but luckily there are programs that offer discounts for students! Additionally, these offers have unlimited rides for your semester/quarter.**
- Orange County and Irvine Students
- Bay Area Students
- Clipper Card
- Will be able to use on Caltrain Golden Gate Transit, Marin Transit, Muni, SamTrans, etc… Check the FAQ for more information
- Must have an income level below $89,320
*keep in mind some places do not allow pepper spray, tasers or anything sharp inside their perimeters
**rules may vary, visit websites for more information
HS & First Year Students
Applying to California State Universities is an incredible accomplishment! Congrats to you! Sometimes the process can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several resources out there to help you! Including, our website! So you are in the right place. Whether you are applying to a CSU as a first time student or as a transfer student, the process can be overwhelming. Keep on reading to get started!
* This quick guide is intended to support undocumented first-time freshmen and transfer students applying to the CSUs for Fall 2022* To check which CSU’s are still accepting applications click here.
Applying to the CSU as a first-time student
Overview of Applying to the CSU (for full details and steps click here: Quick Guide for Undocumented Students Applying to the CSU as a First-time Freshmen)
- Visit the Cal State Apply page (Cal State Apply | CSU)
- Completing Your Profile
- Degree goal: Select “First Bachelor’s Degree”
- Current educational goal: As a first year applicant, you will choose “Graduating High School Senior or equivalent” with or without college credit. This is based upon classes completed and your academic transcripts.
- Previous attendance: If you have attended a CSU campus before and are returning to complete an earlier program, make that clear. Contact the campus to find out how to apply for re-admission.
- U.S. Military status: Indicate your current or anticipated U.S. Military status at the time of application.
- Residency: Indicate if you have or will need an F1 student or J1 exchange visa. Undocumented
- My Application Dashboard: Your dashboard gives you access and details to each part of the application you need to complete. The four sections you must submit are:
- Personal Information
- Academic History
- Supporting Information
- Program Materials
NOTE: In order to be officially coded as an AB540/ SB68 student and pay resident fees at the CSU, you must submit your affidavit and an official copy of your transcripts/attendance records to the Admissions offices at each of the universities where you applied. Check with each campus for their deadline.
- Choosing Your Programs
- Selecting programs: Click on the plus icon next to add programs/major. Add alternatives if desired.
- Residency: The state where you claimed residency in the profile section will already be entered. Visit your profile section to change it. Select the state you claim as your permanent home. If you qualify for AB540/SB68, choose “yes” for California residency. Enter the date your present stay began.
- Race and Ethnicity: Indicate how you identify. You may decline to answer these questions.
- Parent/Guardian Information
- Other Information
- Academic History
- High Schools Attended
- High School Coursework
- College Coursework
- Submitting Your Application
- Be sure to review each section to ensure that your information has been properly entered. Mistakes could complicate or prevent your admission to the CSU.
- When you apply through Cal State Apply, you are automatically considered for an application fee waiver based on the information you entered.
- REMEMBER: Undocumented students who will qualify for AB 540/SB 68 non-resident tuition exemption can be considered for the fee waiver.
For the full guide, go Quick Guide for Undocumented Students Applying to the CSU as a First-time Freshmen
Applying to the CSU as a transfer student
Overview of Applying to the CSU as a transfer student (for full details and steps click here: Quick Guide for Undocumented Students Applying to the CSU as a Transfer Student
- Visit the Cal State Apply page (Cal State Apply | CSU)
- Completing Your Profile
- Level of degree you’re seeking: Select “First Bachelor’s Degree”
- Entry status: As a transfer applicant, you have two options:
- If you are transferring with an Associate Degree for Transfer, select “Transferring with an Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T, AS-T) from a California Community College.” Indicate your community college and ADT program. You may enter up to two.
- If you are transferring from a CA community college or another college, select “Transferring from a California community college or from another two-year or four-year institution.”
- Choosing Your Programs
- Selecting programs: Click on the plus icon next to add programs/major. Add alternatives if desired.
- You may be asked to select an alternate choice for certain programs that are impacted. Impacted programs are majors that receive more applicants than available spaces. You will automatically be enrolled in this alternate program should your first choice become unavailable.
- My Application Dashboard
- Personal Information
- Academic History
- Supporting Information
- Program Materials
NOTE: In order to be officially coded as an AB540/ AB2000/SB68 student and pay resident fees at the CSU, you must submit your affidavit and an official copy of your transcripts/attendance records to the Admissions offices at each of the universities where you applied. Check with each campus for their deadline.
- Submitting Your Application
- Be sure to review each section to ensure that your information has been properly entered. Mistakes could complicate or prevent your admission to the CSU.
- When you apply through Cal State Apply, you are automatically considered for an application fee waiver based on the information you entered.
- Payment: Cal State Apply charges $70 to apply to each program
- REMEMBER: Undocumented students who will qualify for AB 540/SB 68 non-resident tuition exemption can be considered for the fee waiver.
For the full guide, go Quick Guide for Undocumented Students Applying to the CSU as a Transfer Student
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