Each school year, SA国际传谋 News welcomes high school students to intern with us. They get hands-on experience in news production, writing and voicing stories for broadcast and publication on SA国际传谋.org. SA国际传谋 All Things Considered producer Sherrilyn Cabrera, who works closely with the high school students as a mentor, shares more about her experience with our 2023-2024 intern Mia Sanquintin.
I knew almost immediately Mia Sanquintin and I would get along so well.
For the past nine months, I got to work closely with Mia, 17, who attended the same high school I did 鈥� Miami Coral Park Senior High. And we haven鈥檛 had many former Rams in the newsroom.
I also saw myself in Mia in many ways. We鈥檙e both Miami natives. We both identify as Latina. I was a first-generation college student 鈥� and Mia is about to be.
鈥淚t is not for the weak,鈥� Mia said, referring to her experience as being the first in her family to apply for college. 鈥淭here was times where I just wanted to reach out to my family 鈥� but I [couldn't] because they didn't know the process. So I just kind of have to, like, search it up on Google."
鈥淚 never want my cousins or my sister to feel that way,鈥� Mia said. 鈥淪o I want to go to college, so that 鈥� they can come and ask me, 鈥楬ey, what do you know about this? What do you know about this?鈥欌��
"Right after that moment, that fear just vanished. I was like, 鈥極kay, well, at least there's one university that wants me.'"Mia Sanquintin, SA国际传谋 high school intern
Her main advice for her younger family members was this: 鈥淪tart your college journey in sophomore year, beginning of sophomore year. That鈥檚 the best thing you can do, honestly. So that senior year, you're not stressed about anything.鈥�
Mia and I had many, many conversations about her day-to-day life as a South Florida high schooler, and the stress of college applications was a main topic countless times. Mia was determined to get into the college of her dreams 鈥� the University of Florida 鈥� while also dealing with the stress and balance of exams and extracurricular activities on top of just being a teenager.
She was worried she wouldn鈥檛 get in to any of the schools where she applied 鈥� until one day, a big envelope arrived in the mail from Florida Southern College, a private school in Lakeland.
鈥淚 kid you not, I read the letter like 10 times to fully confirm what I was reading. I was like, 鈥楾here's just no way a university accepted me,鈥欌�� Mia said. 鈥淩ight after that moment, that fear just vanished. I was like, 鈥極kay, well, at least there's one university that wants me.鈥� And thankfully, after that, they just kept on flowing. I did get rejected from a few, but most of them kept flowing. After two or three [acceptances], I was like, 鈥極kay, there's no more fear. I don't have to be scared. There are schools that really want me.鈥欌��
As Mia embarked on her college application journey, she and her friends felt frustrated by some of the rejections they received. It felt as if it was getting harder and harder to get into Florida鈥檚 public universities. And that鈥檚 not just a feeling: In fact, acceptance rates have dropped in recent years.
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At the University of Florida in Gainesville, only 23% of students who applied for the upcoming academic year were admitted, down from 30% just . Florida State University in Tallahassee is similar, with a 25% rate, compared to 37% in 2021. Florida International University in Miami this cycle accepted 64% of applicants.
Julie Park, associate professor of student affairs at the University of Maryland, offered a few explanations.
Many more colleges and universities have recently joined the , so students are able to apply for several institutions at once. Since it鈥檚 now easier to apply, more students are submitting applications.
Also, since the 2008 recession, when public university budgets were slashed, many around the country started more aggressively pursuing out-of-state students, since they pay higher tuition rates than in-state students, making it harder for in-state students to get accepted.
Further, she said, 鈥渢he elephant in the room is population growth. Right now, we are at about the apex of 鈥� public high school graduates. 鈥� You have more people who are applying because you have more kids who are graduating from high school. And those numbers are going to go down bit by bit in future years.鈥�
Christine Mederos, Mia鈥檚 College Assistance Program (CAP) advisor at Miami Coral Park, offered Mia some words of advice after experiencing some college disappointments.
鈥淩ejection to the school that you ideally want to go to is rough, but that does not speak to who the student is,鈥� Mederos told Mia.
鈥淵ou have to find your path. You have to find the path you鈥檙e being led to follow,鈥� Mederos said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no shame in failing, as long as you鈥檝e tried, right? You just have to try. If it doesn鈥檛 work out, you pick up the pieces. You feel sorry for yourself a little bit鈥� because it鈥檚 sad, right? You just pick yourself up and get a hug from somebody.鈥�
Mia got lots of hugs from her family members 鈥� and some advice from them, as well, about considering financial factors when making a final college selection.
This fall, Mia is headed to Miami-Dade College before enrolling at FIU for the spring semester.
To hear more about Mia鈥檚 journey listen to her audio piece.
