1. College Admissions Process
What should I be doing?

2. Fall of Junior Year Take the PSAT in October
Research colleges on Naviance, collegeboard.com, princetonreview.com
Keep your resume on Naviance updated with extra-curricular activities (clubs, sports, employment, volunteer activities, honors, awards, etc.)

3. Fall of Junior Year Keep your grades up, improvement counts!
Maintain a good rapport with your junior year teachers, most likely these will be the teachers who will write letters of recommendation for you.
Sign up for the SAT question of the day at CollegeBoard.com and practice!

4. Winter of Junior Year
Study Hard! Remember how important Junior grades are for your GPA and college apps!
Read over break!
Continue with extra-curricular activities
Plan a challenging Senior Year curriculum

5. Spring of Junior Year Attend College Fairs
Write letter of intent to Military Academy if interested
Refine your college list
Study for finals!

6. Summer between Junior and Senior Year
Arrange college tours for the summer
Athletes: register with NCAA Clearinghouse after July 15th and let your academic advisor know.
Keep extracurricular activity and community service efforts going
Start your College essay
Parent Brag Sheet
Letter of ask for Teachers

7. Fall of Senior Year
Your college list should be narrowed to about 5 or 6 schools with a good spread
View on-line college apps for those schools
List colleges on Naviance
Request letters of recommendation if your colleges want them
Take SAT/ACT as needed (PREP!)

8. Fall of Senior Year
Don’t procrastinate with your apps! The earlier the better
Complete all college apps by November 1st
Once you have completed apps, request that your transcript be sent to the college by your HS academic advisor
Send Thank you notes to anyone who helped you

9. Important Dates of Senior Year
October 1st – first day to apply for financial aid using the FAFSA
October 14th – finish FAFSA – your gift to yourself!
November 1st – Complete College apps
November –March – Scholarship applications
Mid February: Mid-year grades will be sent – keep your grades up!

10. Don’t Catch Senioritis!
Sen-ior-it-is [seen-yer-eye-tis]
-noun Slacking off in the Spring or after being accepted
Every year colleges rescind offers of admission or alter financial aid packages as a result of Seniortis!
Because colleges do not receive final grades until July, students often don’t learn of revoked admission until August
Don’t be a victim!

11. A Good List of Colleges 1 Safety School*: Little chance of rejection
2-4 Good Matches: Schools that match your needs and wishes and that you could happily attend
1-2 Reach Schools: Your top choices but schools at which you are less likely to be accepted
*Keep a financially Safe school on your list

12. Early Decision vs. Early Action
Early Decision applicants
Apply early (usually in November) to first-choice college
Receive an admission decision from the college well in advance of the usual notification date (usually by December)
Agree to attend the college if accepted and offered a financial aid package that is considered adequate by the family. LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT.
May only apply to one college for early decision
May apply to other colleges under regular admission
Must withdraw all other applications when accepted by ED
Usually must give a nonrefundable deposit well in advance of May 1

13. Early Decision vs. Early Action
Early Action applicants
Apply early
Receive an admission decision early in the admission cycle (usually in January or February)
Do not have to commit to an EA college
May apply to other colleges under regular admission plans
Must give the college a decision no later than the May 1 national response
How do I remember the difference?
db –Early decision is binding

14. Rolling and Regular Admissions
Rolling Admission: colleges review your app and notify the you of their decision within a few weeks from submission.
Regular Admission: traditional admission process. Colleges notify you of acceptance in the Spring of Senior year.

15. When Should I Apply to College?
If applying to a four-year college: Strong students apply early in the Fall If applying to a two-year college or technical school: Apply for Fall admission during the prior Spring semester

16. What Really Matters to Colleges?
There is no “magic formula”
There are no “rules”
Small Schools pay greater attention to the person
Large Schools often use a mathematical formula based on GPA, ACT/SAT and favor in-state applicants

17. What Really Matters to Colleges?
Courses Taken – colleges want to see academic discipline and a challenge
Grades Received
Rank
SAT/ACT Scores
Essays
Recommendations
Extracurricular Activities
truly commit to 2-3 activities
Interviews

18. Most Significant Factor in Admission:
Grades Earned in ACADEMIC Courses! 
Transcript is the BIGGEST DRIVER in the whole process!!
*Admissions counselors report that 
colleges recalculate GPA, using 
only academic courses

19. Other Trends in College Admissions
Admissions counselors reveal: 
Rigor comes up often; looking at caliber of courses
Through the HS Profiles, colleges can discern how many AP and Honors level courses were offered.
Did the student take advantage of available courses?

20. Letters of Recommendation
How many letters are required?
Standard is TWO Letters of recommendation from ACADEMIC sources (teachers)
Look at application instructions for each school
Make a positive impression by having students ask for letters from teachers with whom they have a good rapport and in whose classes they worked very diligently.

21. College Application Process in 14 Easy STeps
Senior Year Reference
College Application Process in 14 Easy STeps
1.  Narrow College choices to 5-8 schools. 2.  Put choices in Naviance. 3.  Visit Academic Advisor and list schools to which you are applying.  (Be sure to tell your Advisor if you are using the Commonapp for any colleges). 4.  Check College application Deadlines. 5.  Complete Teacher Letter of Recommendation request forms and ask two teachers for letters. 6.  Go to colleges’ websites, click on Admissions/Undergraduate Admissions and complete applications on-line. 7.  Request official scores from Collegeboard and/or ACTstudent. 8.  When you have finished applications, tell your Academic Advisor to send your transcript and letters of rec. 9.  Go to FAFSA.ed.gov and create a PIN number.
10.   Go back after Oct 1 and complete your FAFSA. 11.  Wait for notification from colleges.
12.  If colleges send s or letters saying items are missing, call the admissions offices to double check. 13.  Receive admission or denial letters from colleges. 14.  Send in “Intent to Register” notification to colleges by May 1 along with housing deposit.    

22. SAT/ACT Testing Schedule 1
  SAT/ACT Testing Schedule 1.  October Junior Year - take PSAT (about $13, scores not reported to colleges). 2.  Fall or Winter Junior Year - Take SAT/ACT practice test (about ($10, scores not reported to colleges). 3.  Winter of Junior Year - begin SAT and/or ACT prep. 4.  March and/or May of Junior Year - take SAT*. 5.  April of Junior Year - take ACT. 6.  May or June of Junior Year/Fall and/or Winter of Senior Year- take SAT II’s if needed (look at the colleges’ admissions websites to see if they require SAT II’s). 7.  Fall and/or Winter of Senior Year - re-take SAT and/or ACT to improve scores if necessary**. *when registering for SAT and/or ACT be sure to take advantage of the FREE score reports and send scores to colleges to which you might apply. **if re-taking the SAT/ACT, be sure to PREP!

23. Senior Year Reference
Two-Year College or Tech School Application Process
Applications are completed after the first of the year for fall admission.
1.  Visit college/Tech school website and go to “Admissions”.
2.  Download paper application (or complete on-line application and then notify your school counselor).
3.  Complete paper application.
4.  Submit paper application along with application fee to your school counselor.  Your counselor will mail your application, fee and transcript to the College/Technical School. 5.  Schedule the Accuplacer (placement exam)
a.  SCC: take the Accuplacer at WHS, meet with a college advisor to choose courses
b.  All other community colleges and Tech Schools: you will receive communication from the school indicating when you can take the accuplacer/placement test and meet with an advisor to choose courses.
c.  Explore specialty programs (Nursing, Nuclear Medicine, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Sustainable Energy Technology, etc) to determine admission requirements*
* You may need SAT or ACT scores