As December approaches, El Cid decided to catch up with the counselors to see how Cathedral Catholic’s current senior class is doing . Although some had already headed off to begin their Thanksgiving breaks, Counselor Elaine Jung had much to say about the academic progress of the class. With updates on colleges, academic standing points, and rumors, Ms. Jung talked about the outcomes of the first semester:

El Cid: Would you say that there is a higher interest in in-state or out-of-state schools?

Ms. Jung: “I would say in-state.”

El Cid: And why is that?

J: “Probably because most students, whether their first choice is out-of-state, also apply to in-state schools.”

El Cid: Due to the UC system accepting more out-of-state students, making the competition more rigorous, do you see more students applying to non-UC schools?

J: “I would say overall, yeah. In my thirty years I would say that students are branching out more, not only to more private schools, but also geographically. They are looking across the country and that has changed significantly since I started doing counseling.”

El Cid: As we approach December, how do you see our seniors transitioning academically?

J: “I think that, overall, my seniors are doing a great job. They are being consistent, which is very important in senior year because they’re so many distractions and so much extra work with the college applications and test taking and all that.”

El Cid: There are rumors around our school that the iPads have caused our school’s overall GPA to decline. Would you like to clarify?

J: “I would like to clarify, as I have not seen anything official about that. So, I am not sure where the rumor is coming from. I imagine that the iPads are definitely distracting because people connect technology not only with school work but with social media…and games.”

El Cid: In your opinion, do sports and other activities such as filling out college applications affect student’s performances academically?

J: “It might for individual students, but I would say as a whole Cathedral Catholic tries to kind of graduate whole human beings. So, it’s just part of life; and typically, students who do well in sports, on the field, in the pool, wherever, do well academically.”

El Cid: And how would you describe the class of 2013?

J: “They’re fabulous!”