Nick Brokaw had been carrying an open laptop computer around a Phoenix airport terminal for 25 minutes.
It was already 4:30 p.m. and he still could not get any wireless Internet.
The 18-year-old senior at Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, kept zigzagging through the airport, stopping intermittently to check for a signal.
He dashed from one side of the terminal to the other with onlookers staring.
Brokaw tried to get online without looking panicked. It was too late. He started sweating nervously, and his hands started gripping his computer hard.
Brokaw checked the time again. His plane had landed at 4 p.m. and UC Santa Barbara had already released acceptance decisions one hour earlier. If only he could log on.
In an obscure airport coffee shop, Brokaw finally discovered he was accepted into UCSB.
Like the rest of the nation’s high school seniors, Brokaw has been eagerly awaiting to find out where he will start school this fall.
Brokaw applied to out-of-state universities and five UC campuses last fall. During the past few weeks, he has already received many of his admissions decisions and will soon make his final choice about where he will end up studying political science.
Late March is a period of uneasy waiting and life-altering choices for many high school seniors, still checking their mailboxes and inboxes for the prized acceptance letter from their college of choice.
Most UC campuses have already sent out decisions to applicants and Brokaw was surprised by his results.
Brokaw said he hoped to get into his top picks, UCLA and UC Berkeley, but both schools denied him an offer of admission for the Class of 2012.
“Yeah, it was a blow,” Brokaw said, “but I’m appealing (to) Berkeley right now.”
Brokaw continued receiving letters of acceptance from other UC campuses and from a handful of universities in Washington, Oregon and Arizona.
“Not getting into Berkeley was definitely disappointing,” Brokaw said, “I’m definitely still in the waiting game.”
Some yeas, more nays
Brokaw and other high school students chronicled their college admissions process in a Daily Bruin blog.
The Sacramentan was not alone in feeling disappointed at not getting into his school of choice ”“ only one of the prospective UCLA students who participated in the blog, Arielle Turner, was accepted. Tens of thousands of other students were unable to get into UCLA due to the continually competitive admissions process.
More than 95,000 applications found their way into UC admissions offices this year.
UCLA alone received more than 55,300 freshman applications for a freshman class of approximately 4,700 students.
Among the rejected students is Nitasha Ranganath.
Ranganath, a senior at The Harker School in San Jose, has been accepted into three UC schools, but none are her first choices.
The 17-year-old wanted to study journalism, media and business at UCLA.
“I have been looking for a school that can provide all three,” Ranganath said. “That scope is hard to find in a lot of schools.”
Ranganath said she is still awaiting four other universities’ decisions before making her college choice.
For high school seniors, the wait for these letters can be intense.
Ranganath said she has been keeping busy with schoolwork and extracurricular activities.
She said her day-to-day schedule keeps her mind off of worrying about whether she’ll get into more colleges.
“If I had a lot of free time, I would probably worry,” she said, “My life is moving on, so I’ll take it as it comes.”
The thrill of knowing
Most universities require notice by May 1 from students either declining or accepting their offers of admissions. As soon as many high school seniors hear back from different schools, the clock begins ticking toward the approaching deadline.
Sandra Garcia, a senior at Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights, about 18 miles from Westwood, has found out she was not accepted at UCLA, UC Berkeley, nor at a number of California State University campuses.
While initially discouraged, Garcia said she started feeling hopeful when she received her first acceptance letter, from Cal State Northridge and she told her parents and siblings the good news.
“My parents always said to me, “˜We want you to go to college,’ “ Garcia said. “Now I know I can.”
She said she will be the first in her family to attend college. Her parents never went to college or high school and speak little English.
Garcia has yet to hear from four other UC campuses including UC San Diego, one of her top choices. As an eligible freshman applicant, Garcia knows she will be offered admission to one of the UC’s nine undergraduate campuses, according to university policy.
Garcia said that throughout the application process, she was determined to make her way into the UC system.
Last November, the high school senior said she almost decided to not apply to any UCs.
Early in the application process, Garcia found the application paperwork daunting.
“I almost didn’t do it because all the paperwork looked confusing,” Garcia said.
She said she finally decided to apply the day the fall quarter application was due. She filled out the entire application on the same day she submitted it.
Garcia said she is still looking forward to hearing from the four other UC schools.
Like many other high school seniors, Garcia said her final decision will depend on a number of factors such as financial cost, academic programs, location and career opportunities. She is still waiting to hear back from all of the schools she applied to before she makes her choice.
What’s left to do
Arielle Turner has been accepted to all five UC schools she applied to, including her top UC choices, UCLA and UC Berkeley. She was accepted to New York University as well.
The 17-year-old Narbonne High School senior will also find out if she gets accepted into Columbia University today.
Her next steps will include taking four Advanced Placement exams, finishing high school, and weighing her college options.
“I know I will have to make a decision,” Turner said, “I will end up where I am supposed to be.”
Turner said she plans on making a pro-con list for every college and will factor in elements such as private scholarships, possible campus scholarships, and the schools’ location and atmosphere.
“Location is a big part of my decision,” Turner said,” I want to be farther away from my family.”
Similarly, Ranganath said she will most likely choose her college within this week based on the scholarships and academic programs each campus offers.
“Weighing the cost of private schools versus the UCs is obviously a factor,” Ranganath said, “I guess it will also depend on scholarships.”
Ranganath has received a Regents Scholarship offer from UC Irvine.
“It was nice to get a pick-me-up from a school,” she said.
Brokaw said he will weigh his options by traveling to Southern California to visit prospective colleges.
“I want to do more research and just check out the campuses’ quality of life and atmosphere,” Brokaw said.
Garcia said she intends to finish her high school finals in April and apply for a Cal Grant and other scholarships. Finances will contribute the most to her final decision.
She said she is waiting to see which school will give her the best financial package and more scholarship opportunity.
“I really can’t afford to pay out of my pocket,” Garcia said.
Despite the daunting financial factor in choosing schools, Garcia said she does not regret applying to the UC system.
“I’ll know that I will have the opportunity to go to the UC,” Garcia said. “My little brothers and sisters can now believe that they can go to the UC as well.”