learn more about the roca new Mexico application.

application details

1. applicant details

General information— you name, contact details, demographics, and high school.

2. SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

We ask applicants to answer 3 short answer questions responding to the following prompts:

  1. What’s one topic, idea, or concept that nobody seems to find as engaging as you do - something that you lose all track of time following it down a rabbit hole, love to discuss with any and all who will listen, and can never seem to get enough of. (200 characters)

  2. What strength or quality do you have that most people might not always notice about you? (200 characters)

We suggest you compose your answers in a Google Doc or word processor, then cut and paste. We want to know your story, and we’re excited to help you craft your narrative for college applications.

3. Essays

  1. Whether you ultimately go out of state or stay more local, transitioning to college will be challenging and different from your high school experience. Tell us about a time when you felt outside of your comfort zone. How did this experience help you change or grow? (200 words)

  2. You will take your sense of place/home/culture with you to college, wherever you go. Where are you from, and how has that influenced who you are today? (200 words)

We suggest you compose your answers in a Google Doc or word processor, then cut and paste. We want to know your story, and we’re excited to help you craft your narrative for college applications.

4. Activities

A good way to think about the activities section is to think about all of the things you do except school, homework, sleeping, and eating (unless you prepare the meals for your family). Do you play sports? Are you part of a club? Do you have family or cultural responsibilities? Take care of family members or work at a job? Anything that you do with your time that shows the ROCA selection committee who you are and what you care about is a great thing to list on your activities section. You can list up to 10 commitments. Other potential examples include:

  • volunteer and community service (with your school, club, or on your own)

  • religious commitments and/or leadership

  • cultural and ceremonial activities

  • athletic involvement

  • paid jobs or unpaid family obligations (e.g. caring for siblings, mending fences, feeding/caring for livestock, driving family members to appointments, translating documents for parents, fixing appliances or vehicles)

4. Transcript

You will need to submit an unofficial copy of your transcript that includes your high school grades through the first semester of your junior year.

5. Guardian questionnaire

Part of the application will be completed by a parent or guardian via the Guardian Questionnaire. You will need to provide an email address for a parent or guardian who can complete a form as part of your application. Below are some common questions about this section:

  • What if my parent/guardian’s primary language is not English?

    • The parent/guardian form is fully available in Spanish. For any other primary languages, indigenous or otherwise, please contact mybarra@rocanm.org.

  • Does my parent need a separate email address to complete the Parent/Guardian questionnaire? Can’t they just use my student email address?

    • The questionnaire should be sent to an email address that is not the student’s. We operate our evaluation process on the honor system, but feel this is the best and most direct way to have parents/guardians offer direct input into our system. If your parent/guardian does not have a distinct email address from your own, please contact mybarra@rocanm.org for assistance.

6. teacher/counselor recommendation

We ask for a recommendation from a high school counselor (guidance, career/college) or any high school instructor in the following subjects: science, math, history, English, foreign or indigenous language. Try to ask an adult who knows you well, and someone who you may have shared your college aspirations with. We gain the most from a recommender who can speak to your motivation, growth, and/or resilience. We strongly recommend students request teacher recommendations multiple weeks in advance so that teachers have enough time to complete them.