Merced Union High School District

Note: This is the first of a two-part story that covers an MUHSD News interview with Buhach Colony High counselor Jennifer Sousa about tips for seniors.

 

As summer fades away and the fall semester comes into full swing, the class of 2026 is flooded with worries and questions. Have I done enough? Will I graduate? How can I make sure everything I’ve worked for gets recognized? These are all incredibly valid concerns, especially for a student on their home stretch of high school. What a significant number of students don’t know, however, is that this is exactly what their counselors can help them with. 

 

With that, one of Buhach Colony High School’s counselors, Jennifer Sousa, is here to answer some questions on topics seniors might not know enough about. Sousa earned her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego, before moving to Stanislaus State to receive her master’s degree and counseling credential. This is her 19th year at Buhach Colony and she’s known for her skills in ensuring students’ high school experiences go as smoothly as possible, making a huge impact on the school. 

 

We sat down and asked Sousa about what advice and tips she’d give to seniors about applying for colleges, how to check on graduation requirements and finding the help students need. Some of Sousa’s responses have been edited for space.

 

Question: Some people still might not know, what is the best way to contact your counselors?

Sousa: A few different ways. We take drop ins: before school, after school, at lunch, during breaks – we don't want you to miss class time. We also have a QR code so you can request an appointment. You can scan that QR code, and it’s a Google form. We then get that request, and we can pull you in when we have time. Or email. I do a lot of schedule changes, simple questions, those kinds of things, all through email. If you're at home thinking of something and you don't want to forget it, shoot us an email, that way it’s there for us to talk about later.

 

What are some must-dos for seniors as they start settling into their senior year?

Really nailing down what those next steps are going to be for you, because you have so many resources here on your high school campus. Have that figured out so that you can make sure that you're taking advantage of everything we have to offer. With students who are applying to four year schools, it’s super important to be starting that process right now. 

Your CSUs and UCs are pretty standard, but when you start looking at private schools, or out of state schools, there's a variety of different things they may request. You want to make sure you gather all of that information that you need like letters of recommendation that are required, or essays you need to write. You want to have the opportunity to spend time on those and maybe get somebody else's opinion. Maybe that English teacher that you really respect, have them read it over. You don’t want to leave everything to the end, and then realize “I don't have time to get this done.” 

 

When should seniors start asking for their high school transcripts and letters of recommendation?

Letters of recommendation: now, early is good, because especially towards deadlines and senior exit interviews, we all start getting bombarded with requests, and it gets tough to get all those letters completed. So starting early is great, and having those on hand; scholarships will want them, some college applications, or your senior exit interview. Transcripts are a little bit different – with Common App, they'll ask the counselor to upload the transcript. Most other schools aren't going to want to see them until they're official. You may have some that request in the middle, but for the most part, CSUs and UCs get so many applications that they want to know you're going there, and then you’ll send that final one. 

 

How do seniors know their graduation status? How do they know if they're set to graduate?

Aeries is a great tool for that, but there are some things that aren't always 100% correct with graduation status in there. The academic plan that we started using is another good way to check that, it’s usually pretty accurate. The one thing it doesn't show is your CTE requirements for graduation. So that's something you have to look at yourself. And then, of course, you can always double check with your counselor to make sure things are good. But for that first check, you can use the graduation status or academic plan in Aeries, and that gives you a good idea if you've got those requirements met.

 

I know both the CSUs and the UCs both have different A-G requirements, how can students know if they’re on the right track for either of those?

Really, those have come a lot closer together. The requirements are the same, but sometimes specific classes are a little bit different, or the validation rules they use. For instance, for the UCs, if you take chemistry, you have to have Cs or better in both semesters. With the CSUs, if you got a D first semester and got a C in your second semester, it'll validate. So there's some little things like that, but for the most part, they're pretty close. Again, using Aeries is a good tool, or California Colleges; that platform is something that we have partnered with in our district, and it has your transcript uploaded so you can see if you're on track for things. If you look at your academic plan in Aeries, there are three different screens in there: it has the graduation requirements, the UC requirements, and the CSU requirements, so you can use that to help you out too. 

 

Claire Cuenca is a senior at Buhach Colony High School and student intern for the MUHSD Communications Department.