![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
7 Tips for Seniors Going Through the College Apps Process
Submit your letter of recommendation request forms early as possible and add details of something the teacher might write about.
September 21, 2016
- Start your essays early. As soon as you’ve decided you want to apply to a school, look at what essays they require and what the prompts are. You’ll want a lot of time to draft and edit your piece before submitting it.
- Get your essay edited by at at least two people. I suggest at least one friend and one teacher. You reread your essay so many times you stop being able to see the flaws in it. Ask them to check it over and catch what you can’t, and ask them to give feedback on how well you respond to the prompt and how well the essay sells you. You are not trying to sell your dream trip to London, you’re trying to sell yourself.
- In your spare time start filling out the demographic information. Instead of napping during DEN, take the 20 minutes to fill out the couple pages of demographic information all apps require. Later when you have your essay, scores and everything else ready to go, you’ll be a bit annoyed you have to go through those formalities if you haven’t already completed them.
- Request your transcript from Parchment. Make sure everything is set with your counselor before you submit the request. You want them to see that you’re on track to graduate, not that you still owe 15 credit hours from last spring.
- Consider what teachers have seen you grow the most when considering who to ask for recommendation letters. They may not necessarily be your favorite teacher, but who has seen you struggle and fail, and rise up to meet the challenge. They will have an easier time writing about your good qualities than the teacher whose class you just breezed through.
- Request to teachers writing recommendation letters to highlight a certain trait. Maybe it’s something you didn’t get to mention in your essay, maybe you have to have three letters and don’t want them all to be the same. Not all teachers will take the request, but if you ask it may help not only shift the letter in that direction, but start making them think of moments when you showed those traits.
- Don’t stress. I know there’s a lot of anxiety surrounding the application process, but really you’re going to be fine. You’ll either get into your dream school, or you won’t. The world won’t end, you’ll go somewhere else that you’ll probably love, and you will enjoy college all the same.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
