Coronado High seniors applying early decision to colleges face a Nov. 1 deadline while carrying full course loads and, for some, three-plus hours of daily arts training through the Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) conservatory.
Senior Mia Torres called the process "stressful and time consuming" in a Thursday, Sept. 17 report by the Islander Times, the student newspaper. Torres, a CoSA student, said her packed schedule of arts commitments and social life actually makes it easier to carve out dedicated blocks for applications. The tedious parts, she said, are the small sections of each form: entering past grades and other details that eat up time and patience.
Senior Finn Wahamaki described a smoother experience but said balancing application deadlines with schoolwork deadlines has been his biggest challenge.
CoSA enrolls about 200 students in grades 9 through 12 and requires at least three hours of daily arts instruction across six conservatories, according to the program's website. That schedule leaves little flex time when deadlines hit.
Teacher recommendation letters add another layer. English teacher Joshua Chao, who also advises the Creative Writing Club, said he meets with each student in person before agreeing to write a letter. He weighs whether he can honestly speak well of the student based on classroom interactions. Students who wait until the last moment are almost always turned down, he told the Islander Times.
Chao advised seniors to choose recommenders who can speak to different sides of their personality and high school experience.
College counselor Kristen Ereno echoed that guidance, telling students to pick teachers who know them well and can address a range of strengths. Ereno carries roughly 300 students on her caseload, she told the Islander Times in a Sept. 3 article about expanded counseling support at the school.
The counseling office keeps an open-door policy. Counselors are available from 8:10 to 8:30 a.m. before school, throughout lunch and for 15 minutes after school.
Early-decision results are released by mid-December, while early-action decisions follow in mid- to late January, according to a USC admissions page. The deadline is Nov. 1. Coronado High's counseling office at 650 D Ave. takes walk-ins from 8:10 to 8:30 a.m., during lunch and for 15 minutes after school.
