by Brandon Chin, staff writer

Affordability

With the economy falling and the desire of students to go to college, prices of tuition have skyrocketed. According to Cal High counselor Michelle Sampson, prices of tuition have risen by 151 percent in the last 10 years.

The price of a junior college is much more affordable than four year universities, equaling to around $3,000 per year. California State Universities are around $22,000 a year and University of California colleges are around $31,000 a year.

On the other hand, some students may want to attend a private school, which can range from $50,000 to $60,000 a year. The positive thing about private schools is that they offer a lot of financial aid.  Some private schools even take off an initial amount of money according to the student’s SAT and ACT scores and GPA.

But even if a student has a 4.0 or higher, many parents can’t afford to send their child to a four year college at the average cost of $30,000 a year. But grades, athletics or extracurricular activities can allow a student to qualify for certain scholarships.

Junior Kyle Kao said his parents are willing to pay $25,000 a year without a scholarship, so like many other students finding money for tuition can be difficult.

Many of the students do not know private businesses, other organizations, and colleges offer  students the chance to win scholarships.

Finding money is made easier for students through a well known scholarship website, Fastweb.com.

Cal High also directs students to scholarship applications such as the California Scholarship Foundation, which  provides students with the resources to get money for college.

“There is tons of free money flying around that students may not know about,” said Sampson.

Junior Jenna McNaughton is going to apply to the University of Nevada for it’s nursing program and financial aid.

“The University of Nevada offers quite a bit of discounts for people on the west coast,” said McNaughton.

Location

Some students look forward to leaving home and going far away from San Ramon, while other students choose to stay close to home.

There are many campuses that are nearby.  UC Davis (67 miles), Diablo Valley College (17 miles), Sacramento State (107 miles), and San Francisco State (49 miles) are all in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The Bay Area offers many outstanding colleges that are only a BART ride from home.

Since family is really important to junior Jon Janikowski, he is planning on going to Chico State where his brother Mark Janikowski (Class of 211) is studying as a freshman.

“I’m going to apply to Chico because it’s close to home,” said Janikowski.

Living close to home is beneficial because no matter how tough college can get, students can always come home for a homemade meal and to do a load of laundry at no expense.

For another student, family isn’t the number one priority. Junior Joelle Williams just can’t wait until the day her parents send her off to college.

“I want to go to a school in So Cal so I’m far enough away from my parents to not have to worry about them bugging me, but close enough to be able to go home for a weekend,” said Williams.

Major

Picking a major may seem overwhelming, but after four years of high school, Cal’s students have taken various classes that have allowed them to explore many fields.

When choosing a school, students often put emphasis on a career they want to pursue because a lot of colleges specialize in certain majors.

For example, UCLA is ranked nationally in the top 10 for nursing.  This means the school offers numerous nursing classes and opportunities for students who are interested in medical careers.

Junior Kush Doshi has already decided that he wants to major in science with hopes of going into medicine.

Doshi is going to be applying to UC Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Northwestern University next year.

“I chose these colleges because they are the number one schools in the nation for the medical field,” said Doshi.

While some students pursue the sciences, others want to enter the music field, such as junior Tyler Stimpson.

Stimpson wants to go to Expressions in San Francisco because it offers a good audio production and engineering program.

After he graduates from Expressions, he plans to be an audio producer or a movie score composer.

Campus

Choosing between one campus and another may be just as simple as what the school looks like or its surroundings.

While some students may excel on a small campus, others may find a larger campus to be more suitable.

For junior Amanda Emery, she plans on applying to a small college in Colorado.

“It’s got to be a small college with a good atmosphere,” said Emery.

She believes Colorado is the perfect place to apply because it’s inexpensive and it’s a short plane ride from home.

Most colleges provide campus tours during school hours because it is the best way to show potential incoming students life on campus.

Senior Cody Heally didn’t just choose UC Davis because of the majors the school offers. Heally also accounted for the beauty of the campus because after all, he will be spending four years at this campus.

“I like UC Davis because I like the fact that it is a college town,” said Heally. “It gives a sense of living in San Ramon, even though it isn’t San Ramon.”