1. Presented by Your College and Career Counselors
seniors Applying to College: The extracurricular activity you never knew you signed up for
Presented by Your College and Career Counselors

2. COLLEGE & CAREER ADVISORS
Ms. Shaw
Students with last names A-K
Mr. Trevino
Students with last names L-Z
*Our offices are in the counseling suite!

3. GOALS AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS PRESENTATION YOU WILL KNOW HOW TO:
Get in touch with your college and career counselor
Request teacher and counselor recommendation letters
Request transcripts and understand what is sent out with each transcript
Send SAT/ACT scores to colleges
Identify schools as reach, target or likely schools
Tell the difference between early action, early decision, regular, and rolling admission
Access various applications – ApplyTexas, CommonApp, school specific apps

4. NAVIANCE LOGIN WEBSITE
Lovejoy High School Homepage  Departments  Counseling  College Counseling  Click on “Naviance”
LOGIN FOR NAVIANCE
Username: Most likely your LISD
Password: If you forgot it, see your college counselor and they will reset it for you

5. COLLEGE ADMISSIONS & OTHER TESTING
THE ACT & SAT ARE TAKEN IN HIGH SCHOOL TO HELP DETERMINE COLLEGE ADMISSION ELIGIBILITY
ACT –
SAT –
ASVAB – (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery)

6. COLLIN COLLEGE
ASSOCIATES DEGREES OFFERED THROUGH A WIDE VARIETY OF DISCIPLINES
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING COLLIN COLLEGE:
Lower costs for transferable coursework
Relationships with local and regional 4-year institutions for transfer
Transfer scholarship opportunities
Opportunity for students to explore areas of interest

7. DEADLINES – 4 TYPES APPLICATION VARIES AMONG COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES
SCHOLARSHIP
SOMETIMES FALLS BEFORE APPLICATION DEADLINE
FINANCIAL AID
GRANTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, WORK STUDY, LOANS
HOUSING
SOMETIMES FALLS BEFORE APPLICATION DEADLINE!

8. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION ‐ TEACHERS
VISIT YOUR TEACHER IN PERSON TO ASK TEACHER FOR RECOMMENDATION
Follow-up with an and THEN submit request via Naviance
ASK TEACHERS WHOSE COURSE IS RELATED TO YOUR INTENDED MAJOR
Ex: an engineering major might ask a math or science teacher.
GIVE PLENTY OF NOTICE
At least 3 weeks!!!
TEACHERS SHOULD YOUR REC LETTER TO YOUR COLLEGE COUNSELOR TO BE SENT OUT WITH YOUR TRANSCRIPT and post to Naviance
PLEASE DO NOT REQUEST MORE RECOMMENDATIONS THAN YOU NEED – GENERALLY NO MORE THAN 2-3 LETTERS

9. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION ‐ TEACHERS
PROVIDE TEACHER WITH:
YOUR RESUME or a “brag sheet”
COLLEGES OF INTEREST AND DEADLINES
FOLLOW UP WITH THE TEACHER A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO DEADLINE
**WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE TO YOUR TEACHERS**

10. Letters of recommendation - counselor
IF ANY OF YOUR COLLEGES REQUIRE A COUNSELOR RECOMMENDATION LETTER YOU MUST DO THE FOLLOWING 3 WEEKS PRIOR TO YOUR APPLICATION DEADLINE:
ASK YOUR COUNSELOR BY AND IN PERSON IF THEY WOULD BE WILLING TO WRITE YOUR LETTER
COMPLETE THE “SENIOR LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION SURVEY”
Go to Naviance → About Me tab → Senior letter of recommendation survey
PARENT MUST COMPLETE THE “SENIOR PARENT LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION SURVEY” FOUND ON THEIR OWN NAVIANCE PAGE
COMMON APP REQUESTS
**THESE SURVEYS ARE ONLY REQUIRED FOR STUDENTS IN NEED OF A COUNSELOR LETTER**

11. Don’t wait until the last minute!!!
transcripts
FERPA (Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) and CLASS RANK OPT-IN (Rank or DNR)
TRANSCRIPT CONSENT FORM: MUST BE COMPLETED IN ORDER FOR YOU TO REQUEST TRANSCRIPTS THROUGH NAVIANCE.
SEE OUR TRANSCRIPT SECRETARY, MRS. ELLIS, IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED THIS FORM
Request transcripts through Naviance
NAVIANCE HOMEPAGE→ COLLEGES TAB → TRANSCRIPTS (left-hand margin)
*Connect your Common App account with Naviance by adding FERPA info, etc.
Don’t wait until the last minute!!!

12. Transcript Sending
WHAT IS SENT OUT TO COLLEGE WHEN I REQUEST A TRANSCRIPT?
AUTOMATICALLY SENT:
Official transcript
List of senior year courses
Secondary School Report
School Profile
SENT WITH TRANSCRIPT WHEN NEEDED OR REQUESTED:
Teacher recommendation letters
Counselor recommendation letters

13. SAT/ACT SCORES
YOU MUST SEND YOUR SAT/ACT SCORES TO EACH COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY THROUGH THE OFFICIAL TESTING WEBSITES!
LOGIN TO YOUR SAT OR ACT ACCOUNT TO SEND SCORES
SEND SCORES 4-6 WEEKS PRIOR TO APPLICATION DEADLINE TO ENSURE DELIVERY

14. Narrowing college choices
REACH:
The majority of applicants have better grades and test scores than you.
You only have a slight chance of being accepted, however, you may have some intangible quality that the college is searching for in its students.
TARGET:
You meet most of the admissions criteria.
You have a good chance of being admitted to these colleges, but there is also the possibility of denial.
LIKELY:
You should be admitted without difficulty based on grades, test scores, etc.
You researched the school and believe you will get a good education and also be happy
How do you know where you stand???

15. AP SCHOLAR AWARD LEVELS
AP Scholar: Granted to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams
AP Scholar with Honor: Granted to students who receive an average score of at least on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams
AP Scholar with Distinction: Granted to students who receive an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams
State AP Scholar: Granted to the one male and one female student in each U.S. state and the District of Columbia with scores of 3 or higher on the greatest number of AP Exams, and then the highest average score (at least 3.5) on all AP Exams taken
National AP Scholar: Granted to students in the United States who receive an average score of at least 4 on all AP Exams taken, and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams

16. “AP Capstone Diploma Candidate”
AP Seminar and Research Certificate™: Granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research.
AP Capstone Diploma™: Granted to students who earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of their choosing.
“AP Capstone Diploma Candidate”

17. COLLEGE Applications – 3 ways to apply
APPLY TEXAS COMMON APPLICATION
NATIONAL COMMON APPLICATION – “Common App”
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC APPLICATION
FOR COLLEGES WHICH ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE APPLY TEXAS OR COMMON APP. ORGANIZATION. SOME SCHOOLS SIMPLY OFFER AS AN ADDITIONAL OPTION.

18. COLLEGE APPLICATIONS – TYPES
REGULAR ADMISSION
ROLLING ADMISSION
EARLY DECISION
BINDING AGREEMENT WITH ONE SCHOOL
EARLY ACTION
NON-BINDING
Some schools offer RESTRICTIVE EARLY ACTION….

19. TEXAS TOP 10% RULE
ANY STUDENT RANKED IN THE TOP 10% OF THEIR CLASS IS AUTOMATICALLY ELIGIBLE FOR ADMISSION TO ANY PUBLIC STATE SCHOOL IN TEXAS
YOU MUST STILL APPLY TO THE SCHOOL!
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IS THE EXCEPTION AS IT ONLY AUTOMATICALLY ADMITS THE TOP 6%
REMEMBER: BEING AUTOMATICALLY ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY DOES NOT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE ADMITTED INTO THE MAJOR OF YOUR CHOICE AT THAT TIME

20. Scholarships SCHOOL SPECIFIC SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH ENGINES
FASTWEB SCHOLARSHIPS
Big Future (College Board)
Scholarships.com
NAVIANCE

21. CAUTION!!!
YOU are responsible for making sure the college receives all required materials before the deadline. You must check your and your application status frequently. This is how a college will communicate with you.

22. We are here to support you through this process!
Please come see us any time!