Busy While Waiting

  TYSON EVANS Salar Hazany watches
calculus teacher Laurie Kolpas work out a
problem.

By Helen Seliverstov
Daily Bruin Contributor Reseda High School senior Salar Hazany is
hoping for letters of acceptance from the University of California
at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, San Diego and especially Los Angeles
““ his dream school. Since sending off college
applications in the fall, he no longer has to worry about SAT
scores. But he is doing more than just waiting. Busy applying for
scholarships, Hazany is now gathering recommendation letters and
filling out endless financial aid forms ““ while enjoying his
last semester of high school. He is naturally worried about the
responses from colleges, but said he no longer has control over
whether he’ll get into UCLA or the other schools, so he tries
to focus on the things he can control ““ his current Advanced
Placement classes and the clubs in which he is involved.
“I’m not free of all the worries in the world like I
expected to be,” the 17-year-old said. Hoping to make his
expensive college education a little cheaper, Hazany is concerned
about how many scholarships he will receive. “I don’t
know the rate of getting scholarships. I could get one or
50,” he said. Hazany has already received two $1,000
scholarships as a Governor’s Scholar Award recipient for high
scores on the Golden State Exams, optional subject tests in which
students who fare well receives recognition on their transcript. He
is also on the hunt for the Governor’s Distinguished
Mathematics and Science Award, which gives $2,500 to students who
receive a 5 on both a math and science AP test. Additionally,
Hazany is applying for a UCLA Alumni Scholarship ““ his father
graduated from UCLA ““ and one from the California Scholarship
Federation, a statewide honor society which Hazany has been a
member of for four semesters. To apply for the CSF scholarship,
Hazany had to write a letter to the federation’s board,
obtain a letter of recommendation from a community service
supervisor, a teacher and a CSF advisor. But Hazany is not all
about academics. The co-captain of his school’s tennis team,
which he’s been a part of for three seasons, he is also
seeking to apply for a Reseda High General Sports Scholarship. To
apply for the sports scholarship and other ones, Hazany must write
more essays and gather recommendations from teachers and peers
““ almost like applying to college all over again. Marilyn
Udoji, the college counselor at Reseda High, said students
predominantly receive aid money for college through federal and
state grants that are based on family income. Hazany does not think
he qualifies for financial aid, but he is filling out the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid that is due March 1 anyway,
because many scholarships require it.

  TYSON EVANS Hazany refers to his
textbook.

Moving on to college … Hazany is worried about having too many
expectations of college and not being happy with the results when
he gets there. He feels as ready as anyone to go to college, but he
is not quite sure how it is going to be. “If anybody’s
ready, I’m ready,” Hazany said. “It’s a
normal thing to do, it’s not that extraordinary for a person
who has been in the educational system to go to college,” he
added. Udoji agrees that students are generally ready to go to the
school they get accepted to. The biggest shock for a student when
they get to college, Udoji said, is the work load and being away
from home. If Hazany is admitted to UCLA, he will live at home
because of close relationships with his family. “They make me
apply myself, and they encourage me. I am most productive when I am
at home,” Hazany said.

… But enjoying the end While Hazany applies for scholarships
and looks forward to college, he is also looking back on his
experiences at Reseda High. “There has been a lot of good and
bad,” Hazany said. “It is not as competitive as other
schools. You learn for the sake of learning, and you don’t
have to be worried about your grade point average,” said
Hazany, whose GPA is over 4.0. Hazany is glad the school does not
stress class rank as much as other places. The class rank is not
revealed to the students until December. Last semester, Hazany
received A’s in all his classes except for AP Physics, in
which he earned a B. But now that the college application process
is over, Hazany has a sense of security that was not there before.
He goes out with friends more because there is less pressure in
school. Many students experience “senioritis” during
which they lose interest in school once they send off college
applications. But Hazany said he is in school for the sake of
learning, and he wants to learn even when their isn’t as much
pressure to get high grades. Perhaps weary of some of his high
school classes, Hazany sometimes asks teachers questions he said
require more knowledge on a subject than is in the curriculum, and
he is frustrated when teachers cannot provide the answers
he’s looking for. “Teachers are like parrots; they
recite the book,” Hazany said. “Even in the magnet
program, the environment was not very competitive before. It is
getting even less so now,” Hazany said. Some schools offer a
magnet program, where participating students must take extra years
of math, science and foreign language classes and perform more
community service before graduating. Udoji does not notice a
dramatic change in grades of seniors between fall and spring
semester. “They realize that colleges can revoke their
admission if grades drop drastically,” Udoji said. Though
looking forward to graduating, Hazany is worried that once he
leaves, he will realize he did not get the most out of high school.
In the meantime, he is enjoying participating in senior class
activities. This Wednesday, he is trying out for the prom fashion
show. Hazany is planning to go to prom, the magnet school dinner
banquet, Grad Night at Disneyland and other senior activities.
“I want to do as much as I can to have good memories to
remember,” Hazany said. But as the end of senior year draws
nearer, Hazany is hoping for more than good times in high school.
This September, Hazany hopes to begin making new memories as a
Bruin. For Hazany, April 1 ““ the day UCLA sends its letters
out to applicants ““ will be the day his college career is
determined.