The Catalyst sat down with College Counselor Dina Cunha and talked about her work with the upcoming college app season.

The Catalyst (TC): How long have you been a college counselor?

Dina Cunha (DC): Since 2003, technically. So, that makes it 15 years. I’ve been in education since 1996. I was a history teacher before that, so five years of teaching, then moved into counseling.

TC: What aspect of the college admissions process have you been a part of?

DC: When I say 15, 16 years, I mean working back and forth between high schools and universities. My first job out of graduate school when I got my masters was working at NDNU in the admissions department… Eventually I moved up to the University of California, so I worked at Santa Cruz. I did two years there as well as a full time senior admissions counselor.

TC: Have you noticed any changes in the way that students approach college apps over the years?

DC: The biggest change I’ve seen is the amount of colleges added to their college lists… The accessibility is a big deal because now you have the internet which means you can go onto an app site like UC and just apply to all nine with one app. Common App is the same thing. But, because they have so many more apps, they have to deny more, which means the admissions rates have gone down, and it’s gotten what students see as more difficult to get in… The internet has a lot to do with that, so there’s a lot more denying, which causes even more anxiety. That’s the other thing, too, the anxiety levels have gone up with students because I think it all feeds into itself. It’s a cycle.

TC: What is your favorite part of your job?

DC: Working with the students. For me, it’s just a better fit. I like the students. If I could take away everything else and just work with the kids, that’s actually the much more, I think, rewarding part and seeing them through the cycle and through the process, and how they grow… I think that’s why I work on the school end, rather than just on the university end.

TC: What is one thing that you wish you could change about your job?

DC: It’s how do we get the information out there where the students will see it. Because we’ll put it on our website, we’ll put it in the student college guide, and we’ll put it in a college presentation, but they’re still not hearing it.

TC: What is one piece of advice that you think that every student applying to college should know?

DC: Half the battle of being college-ready is, as long as you can make your deadlines and follow instructions, you’re halfway there. So, whether it’s following instructions on how to do a college app, or when to turn in the senior questionnaire, or if it’s instructions or deadlines within a school or a university, if you have that sort of “as long as I hit the deadlines and read all the instructions,” you’re halfway there. If you just do that, you’ll do probably okay in college. And, teachers will probably agree with me on that. Just whatever you do, just follow the instructions and read the deadlines, and you’ll get there. You will get there.