Imperial Valley students look toward college, consider options

As the Imperial County Office of Education’s Higher Education Week II begins to wrap up, the end of the school year also approaches. With the end of the year also comes the worry and excitement associated with choosing a college.

The Central Union High School class of 2011 met with academic presenters from various colleges and universities in the multipurpose room of the El Centro school Wednesday. The university representatives gave presentations on financial aid, SAT scores, GPA and the different types of higher education schools. They were also on hand to give the college hopefuls more information about their schools of choice as the school day began to wind down.

The high school juniors said they had a lot of different factors to consider when choosing a school and continuing their education.

Some said the event helped to remind them of what they have already learned about college.

“I’m in AVID so I know about all of this stuff,” 17-year-old Melissa Perez said about the presentations. “But (it serves) as a reminder about everything, requirements and stuff.”

“It was helpful to remind us that we’re closer to the process,” 17-year-old Diego De La Peza said.

The two juniors spoke of their post-high school plans.

“I want to go to Northern Arizona University or (California State University), Northridge,” Melissa said. “I want to major in sociology because I think it’s really interesting (to find out) why we do the things we do.”

Melissa also said that her extracurricular and senior activities tend to spread her time a little thin.

“It’s hard to keep up with everything,” she said. “I’m a really bad procrastinator but I try not to be. I play a lot of sports so maybe I can get (a scholarship) from doing volleyball, soccer or swimming,” the tri-athlete said.

Her classmate, Diego De La Peza, was slightly less certain of his plans.

“I’m undecided right now,” he said about his intended major. “I want to go to University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Riverside, or San Diego State University in San Diego.

“I’m going to apply and see if I can get my scholarship,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll have a 4.0 grade-point average when I graduate. I have a 3.93 right now.”

Other college hopefuls had plans to further their relationship with their computers.

“I want to major in computer engineering,” 16-year-old Victor Teran said. “I’m trying to get into the Air Force Academy, but if not, then probably a UC school; UC Berkeley, UCLA or UC Riverside,” he said.

Teran also said he is in a bit of a bad situation with financing for college.

“I’m at the point where my family doesn’t qualify for financial aid but we’re not rich enough to pay for (all of) it so it kind of sucks,” he said. “My family will help where they can though.”

In the mean time, he said, “I’m looking into scholarships and loans.”

Omar Reyes is also considering a career in computers.

“I’m thinking of video game design,” the 17-year-old said. “I’m still looking for the right college. I know I’m going to need a mix of scholarships, financial aid and loans.

“I was actually planning to go to Imperial Valley College but I was looking to see where else I could go,” he said.