On August 10, 2025, Segerstrom Higher Education Center hosted our schools annual Senior Conference day which introduced the senior class to the different types of college applications throughout the day.
The event began to help Seniors understand the importance of college applications and the most cost efficient way to survive these next few months. College applications can range anywhere from $70 to $100 dollars per application, excluding any portfolios that the student may want to accompany their application. However, students shouldn’t stress too much as there are several colleges that will waive the application cost.
When applying to colleges, there are so many more options than just the Common App or Questbridge applications. Each institution has a set amount of requirements that are unique to them. For example, California Institute of Technology requires a letter of recommendation from two different core classes, one requirement would be from physics or calculus while the second requirement may be from a humanities course. Another example is Pomona College which requires separate supplemental essays that help these institutions learn more about the individuality of their students.
California State institution applications will be due in the month of October, which is extremely early into the college season because these applications do not require any essays. This directly contrasts the University of California institution applications which are due in the month of November because they are accompanied with a personal statement essay and personal insight questions. These supplements help the university decide on whether the student is a good fit for the university or not.
Once students find colleges and start evaluating their applications, they have to keep in mind the different deadlines. Several colleges have different application windows such as Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision. Early Decision is a binding application due in early November that makes it so when the student is admitted in early January and February, they must withdraw their other submitted applications. Early Action is a nonbinding agreement application due in early November so when students hear back in early January and February, they still have until late April and early May to declare themselves to the institution. Regular Decision is a nonbinding agreement application due in late December to early January where students will receive decisions back around the months of April and have until early May to decide.
While Early Decision and Early Action may be very similar, a binding agreement will automatically declare the student to the institution regardless of a better opportunity. The two are less competitive when compared to Regular Decision because the application pools are much smaller and submitted far sooner.
Students should always keep in mind their time range and the competitiveness of their dream institutions because their senior year is dedicated to discovering the next four years of the students’ life.
