With deadlines fast approaching, seniors at Flintridge Sacred Heart have been hard at work on their college applications. Early action and decision applications were due on November 1st, and the deadline for regular decision applications is January 1st. This crucial time has brought stress to all 89 seniors as they navigate the Common App, UC applications, and Cal State Apply website.
Which colleges and universities, you may be wondering, are the most popular among this year’s applicants? To find out, The Shield conducted a survey on the class of 2025. The questions asked were:
What are the top three most schools you are applying to? Do you prefer in-state or out-of-state universities? And can you predict which schools are the most popular for FSHA seniors?
Reni Martinez ‘25 predicted that the most popular schools for FSHA seniors are University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Loyola Marymount University, and Texas Christian University.
“I always hear people talking about them and how their application process is going. Also a lot of alumni have gone to those colleges so they are pretty popular,” said Reni.
Were her predictions correct?
Not quite. The top three universities FSHA seniors are applying to this year, according to the FSHA college guidance department, are as follows: first, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB). Approximately 56% of the seniors are applying here. Next, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where 55% of the seniors are applying. In third place, it’s University of California San Diego, which attracted 48% of the seniors.
As for out-of-state schools, 28% of the seniors are applying to the University of Michigan and 23% are applying to the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Regarding student preference, 100% of students who responded to our survey are applying to out-of-state schools, though only 50% prefer to leave sunny California. Meanwhile, 28.6% desire to stay in-state, and the remaining 21.4% noted that their choice would depend on scholarships or various preferences.
Ms. Jessie Brumfiel, one of two college counselors here at FSHA, described the competitive application process as “intense and productive.”
“Though fifty students are applying to Santa Barbara, thankfully it does not impact how many students will or won’t get accepted,” Ms. Brumfiel said.
Schools such as the UC’s admit applicants based on GPA, essays, standardized test scores, and activities done throughout high school, explained Ms. Brumfiel. So if there are many outstanding students from one school, the university won’t necessarily be stingy about accepting a lot of them.
As the school year unfolds, many seniors receive rolling admissions decisions currently and others eagerly wait for that one email to appear in their inbox. It’s apparent that the college application experience is both exciting and challenging for everyone involved.
