Low-Income Denver Student Overcomes Added COVID Struggles While Applying To College

DENVER (CBS4) - The college application process has been challenging through the pandemic. Financial uncertainty, along with lack of access to resources, are just a few of the factors contributing to a concerning decline among applicants

"Specifically, students that come from low-income backgrounds, students of color… this is not an issue isolated to southwest Denver, but nationally as well," said Charles Ferrer, Manager of College Success at DSST College View High School.

More than 85% of students at College View High School qualify for free and reduced lunch, which means many had challenges prior to the pandemic. The transition to online learning has created even more.

"That comes with reliable internet access, food resources, having multiple relatives in the house while everyone is learning," said Ferrer.

The regular deadline for most colleges is Jan. 1, but overall, applicants applying for all deadlines are down. The decline was especially sharp for first-generation and fee waiver-eligible applicants, each of which experienced a 10% decline in applicant volume.

The data comes from Common Application, which is used by more than 900 colleges and universities to screen prospective students.

"I know a couple students who just, they can't really juggle everything. They're having a hard time adjusting to this new system," said Ana Salazar, a senior at DSST College View High School.

Salazar doesn't exactly have it easy. She not only comes from a low-income family, but with her father working, she's been a caretaker for her little sister and mother who fell ill, but recovered just in time to give birth to Ana's new baby sister.

"So it's sort of like balancing my school life and my home life. That just really messed with my education at the same time. I had to find a way to balance it out."

The DSST curriculum offers individual support for 11th and 12th graders as they navigate the application process, which helped Ana find balance.

"Ana Salazar is just one of the most inspiring students that I've ever met in my life, and it makes me a better counselor as well because she has had to overcome so many barriers in her upbringing," Ferrer said. "I'm just super inspired by the work that she has provided and the resiliency and the hope that she has embarked on these past for years."

Ferrer, who works alongside a dedicated college success team to help students, encouraged Ana to apply to the Quest Bridge program, which provides scholarships to students from low-income backgrounds. 

On Thursday, Ferrer joined her over Zoom for some moral support, as she opened a letter from Notre Dame.

Both recorded the moment on their phones, where you can hear Ferrer offering words encouragement,

"Deep breath, just remember I'm proud of you no matter what."

Ana recalled the moment, "I clicked the link, and it was just a small 'I matched' and that's when he yelled, and it was just… absolute shock of having.. just having a full ride at Notre Dame it's just like… shocking," she said shaking her head.

You can hear Ferrer shouting for joy while Ana sat in shock, hands over over her mouth, just before calling out to her mother.

"Right after I hung up I was just… in full tears it was… it was exciting," she beamed.

Ana received acceptance letters from every school she applied to, including the Colorado School of Mines, UNC and Regis University, but took the full ride to Notre Dame.

"We had another student in our high school match with Cal Tech which was super inspiring, and it just goes to show that regardless of the pandemic upending so many lives, it does not stop the dreams of students like Ana, to pursue a better future not only for her and her family, but for the peers that she'll inspire down the road," said Ferrer.

In addition to Ana, through the Quest Bridge Program, a student from DSST Montview received a full ride to Vassar, and another from  DSST Conservatory Green, received a full ride to Boston College.

Of 102 seniors Ana's class, 76 have been accepted to a 4-year university, still, there's concern that many seniors across the nation will opt out.

In a letter from the President and CEO of Common Application, Jenny Rickard wrote in-part,

"For now, we are concerned at the continued decrease in first-generation and fee waiver applicants. Given that we are reporting these findings at a later stage of the admissions cycle, the likelihood that these students will apply by January continues to diminish because the closer we get to January, the less time there is to reverse trends. We know the pandemic has upended the whole system of college admissions, and low-income students may be holding off on applying to college as they face financial uncertainty. We encourage members to do everything they can to ensure these students have a viable path to college."

This year, the Common Application added a section for an optional essay, so students could explain the impacts the pandemic has had on their lives, and admissions officers are listening.

"Colleges are giving an opportunity for students to explain how COVID-19 has impacted them academically, personally, not only them as students but their family situation as well because COVID impacted all of us," said Ferrer. "I encourage students to please articulate that to colleges. Colleges are being responsive to family circumstance"

Ferrer also advised that students to ask for help and be kind to their teachers.

"Because down the road you're gonna be asking for letters of recommendation. As part of the college admission process, that may tip the scale for you in a way that test scores and GPAs can't quantify," he said.

Ana hopes her story inspires others to push through hardship.

"Persevere. Just preserve, work through it, push through it and always keep your end goal in mind," said Ana.