College Application Steps

Most Colleges and Universities use the Common Application; please refer to the video on the Guidance Website to learn more about the Common Application

  • Create a Common Application account – go to www.commonapp.org
  • Explore schools you may be interested in applying to – if a school is not part of Commonapp, go directly to the school’s website to apply
  • Select your schools and complete the application
  • Check the admission requirements for each college – make sure you provide any information required by the college, including supplement, essay, specific writing samples, appropriate number of letters of recommendation, and/or standardized testing (SAT/ACT) – you need to request your SAT/ACT scores directly from Collegeboard.or and/or ACTstudent.org
  • DO NOT request teacher and counselor recommendation letters from Commonapp – you do this in Naviance
  • Make sure you submit your applications before the DEADLINE
  • REMEMBER  to complete the FERPA authorization, which will allow you to match your Commonapp with your Naviance accounts
  • Activate your Naviance account – see your Guidance Counselor if you do not have an account or you forgot your password and need password reset
  • Check/update your Naviance account – make sure your email and your parent’s/guardian’s email are accurate
  • Match your Commonapp account to Naviance – if you need assistance, refer to the tutorial video on the Guidance website – if a school you are applying does not use Commonapp, you still need to add the school to your list on Naviance
  • Complete the teacher recommendation, guidance recommendation, and activity sheet, in your “document library” (on the right side of your Naviance family connection page) –  save the forms as word documents and email or hand them to your teacher and guidance counselor – also request transcript from your guidance counselor
  • Provide your Guidance Counselor with at least10 school days’ notice before your first college application deadline so we have sufficient to submit all your required documents

    ***Make sure you submit your college applications before the DEADLINE***