Student Service Corp College Dept.
Student Service Corp College Dept.
Student Service Corp remains committed to creating accessibility in the college admission landscape for underprivileged youth. Our entire board and leadership team is comprised of students, many of which come from underprivileged backgrounds and have struggled with the college application process. Below are all the resources we have compiled, simplified for your viewing. This is a live portal, and will be constantly updated. All information is accurate as of April, 2024.
Welcome to the Student Service Corp College Dept!
There are three key aspects to consider throughout the application process: list, activites, and essays. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of how to ace all three.
2) Activities
Once you have a solid list, you’re ready to start applying! Most of the application is straightforward, watch our webinar with counselor Kate Augus for specifics. The activities and essay sections, however, call for more creativity and individualism. Here are some tips we picked up regarding the activities section:
Figure out your angle.
Who are you? What are you applying for? What is your story and how does it all tie together?
When you are applying to colleges, you are effectively selling yourself to admissions officers, and stories sell. Craft a story around yourself, and your journey. You don’t have to stick with it once you get to college, but this is what will get you in. If your activities are all related to planting trees, and that is your passion, consider an environmental science major and connect your activities in a relevant way. It all needs to be cohesive, and paint a picture of who you are.
1) List
Before you make your list, think about what type of school you want to attend. Consider location, program, size, sports, greek life, or anything else you care about. DO RESEARCH! You might find it tedious but won’t regret it.
Once you have some options and ideas, it’s time to create a list. A good list has safety, target, and reach schools. It differs by applicant, but generally a safety school has above 80% acceptance rate, a reach is 30% or below, and everything else is a target! It is extremely important to have a balanced list with schools you LIKE within all three categories. Here’s an example of my college list.
Pro tips:
1) Be organized! As you can see, I put all the important information about the schools I applied to in my list: deadlines, test requirements, and recommendation requirements, for example. This will help you greatly down the line.
2) Use Collegevine! Collegevine is a free tool created by students, for students. It will tell you everything you need to know about a school, from size to acceptance rate, you name it.
3) Lists can change overtime! It’s okay. I didn’t end up applying to NYU or Brown because of price and location: I wanted to stay in California for the beaches and in-state tuition.
Tips for the activities section:
1) Be yourself! Don’t put what you think they want to hear, showcase your true self and your passions and goals. Authenticity reigns supreme, and yes, they can tell.
2) Use bullet points! Every character counts. You don’t need full sentences.
3) Quality over quantity: You don’t need to fill every single spot (the UC application has 20!) Put what you are proud of, and what you want to showcase. Don’t put stuff you were barely involved in or don’t care about just to fill space. My friend only filled 9 spots, and got into every school he applied to. The number doesn’t matter as long as the activities are solid.
4) Quantify as much as possible!!!! This is the most important in my opinion. For example, if I was talking about an OSS event, I would say something like “Led team of 25 in removing over 5,000 pounds of trash from low-income area in Oakland.” Simple, clean, and quantified. People love numbers and results: and even if the numbers feel small to you, it might not to them.
For more tips, check out the video above! It covers a lot of these same topics, and is common app specific, if that’s what you are looking for.
3) Essays
Your college essays are NOT school essays. Do not write it like one. I cannot stress this enough. Be fun, creative, and if you want to, unorthodox. Let your personality shine through. They know you’re a student. They know your grades, and accomplishments. This is your chance to show them who you really are. For example, my friend (that now goes to HAAS at UC Berkeley), wrote about selling chips. My favorite essay that I wrote was about my little brother, linked here if you want to check it out. You can see my entrepreneurial spirit, and even some charity-related stuff shine through, but that’s not the point. It’s about my character and personality, and what’s truly important to me: being a role model for my brother and doing my family proud.
If you need help with any part of your essays, from brainstorming, to editing, check out the form at the bottom of the page, or email college@studentservicecorp.org for help.
Some extra tips:
1) For UC’s, you have 8 options and only need to use four. Look at the UC PIQ questions early and brainstorm!! My mom made me start thinking about them my sophomore year.
2) Re-use your essays! You don’t need to write a new essay for every application. That essay I wrote about my brother, when slightly modified, was my personal statement on the Common App, as well as my essay for many scholarship applications. However, make sure not to just copy and paste. Tailor the essay for each unique thing you apply for, using the same general idea as a starting point.
3) Write long versions first, and cut later. Get all your thoughts out, even if you don’t like it, just keep writing. You can cut, edit, or change later. My essay started at over 800 words, and I was able to cut it to 350, keeping the good parts and cutting out the bad.
Oakland Student Service College Webinars
Check below for our college webinar series covering everything you need to know about college applications!
Financial Aid & Essay Help
Financial Aid and Scholarship Resources:
Dept of Labor Scholarship Finder
Financial Aid and Scholarship Tips:
Talk to your school counselor! They will most likely have a big list of scholarships and other resources specific to your school or district. If they don’t, they will be able to point you to someone who does.
Visit your college and career center! Most schools have a college and career center with people who are dedicated to helping you in your journey. They will often have scholarship links or be able to help you find what you are looking for.