Anyone who has gone to college or knows someone who has gone to college knows how grueling the application process can be. As college preparation is a huge component of IHDF-NY programming for high school Dreamers, this task is multiplied many times over at our cohorts. Nowhere will busier than DeHostos-Wise this year, which has 32 rising seniors. These Dreamers got a head start on the application process this summer with a series of intensive workshops to complete their college portfolios, which include their college essay, a list of colleges, a resume, letters of recommendation, and a postsecondary education form. Once completed, Dreamers began completing applications for the City University of New York (CUNY). One DeHostos Dreamer, Nachary, shares her experience:
Nachary in the DeHostos computer lab
Even before entering high school, I had heard hundreds of stories about the horrors of college applications. All of the stories had the same common theme: huge amounts of stress. Over the course of high school, I had thoughts like: "How am I going to do this?" or "This is going to be so hard". I was stressed out just thinking about applications, making me even less eager to begin the process. It felt like I would never survive the process. This was all before I began working on my college portfolio.
A college portfolio is a personal folder where all of the information for applications is needed. Throughout all of our Junior year, we began talking seriously about college, applications and how we could make the applications easier. This is where the college portfolio came in. We began filing up our college portfolios in August. Doing the college portfolio allowed us to take all the components necessary for applications and put them in one, accessible place.
The portfolios helped organize our information and save time when it came to actually apply. When I began filling out my CUNY application, it was way easier than I had anticipated due to the fact that I had all the information right there. If I had not had a college portfolio, I would have been making numerous calls to gather information, making the process longer. All I had to do was plug in information I already had. Doing the CUNY app was easy for me, taking very little time. Ultimately, Doing the college portfolio was one the most beneficial things I could have for myself and my application experience.