College Admissions Process
What should I be doing during my
Junior and Senior Years of
High School?
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.)
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!
Winter of Junior Year
• Study Hard! Remember
how important Junior
grades are for your GPA
and college apps!
• Read over break!
• Continue with extracurricular activities
• Plan a challenging Senior
Year curriculum
SAT/ACT Testing
• Considering applying to a college Early Action or
Early Decision? Take SATs twice in Junior Year
• February: register for SAT if you would like to
take it in March
• March: register for the SAT if you would like to
take it at WHS in May
• April: register for the June SAT – a good time to
take SAT Subject tests
• Prepare for the SAT or ACT!
SAT II's (Subject Tests) - More Info
Check Admissions Requirements to see if College requires
SAT II's
check for a list:
http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx
Colleges that require SAT II's:
Columbia, Cornell, Duke, MIT, UPenn, etc.
Colleges that Recommend* SAT II's:
Emory, Lafayette, Lehigh, UDel, etc.
*Anytime something is "Recommended", be sure to complete it.
Spring of Junior Year
•
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•
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Attend College Fairs
Write letter of intent to Military Academy if interested
Refine your college list
Study for finals!
Summer between Junior and Senior Year
• Arrange college tours
for the summer
• Athletes: register with
NCAA Clearinghouse
after July 15th
• Keep extracurricular
activity and
community service
efforts going
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!)
Fall of Senior Year
• Don’t procrastinate with
your apps! The earlier the
better
• Complete all college apps
by December 1st
• Once you have
completed apps, request
that your transcript be
sent to the college by
your HS counselor
• Send Thank you notes to
anyone who helped you
Winter of Senior Year
• January 1st – first day to apply for financial
aid using the FAFSA
• February 14th – finish FAFSA – your gift to
yourself!
• Mid February: Mid-year grades will be
sent – keep your grades up!
Don’t Catch Senioritis!
• Sen-ior-it-is [seen-yer-eye-tis]
o
o
o
o
-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!
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
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
• 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
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?
o
db –Early decision is binding
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.
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
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
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
o truly commit to 2-3
activities
• Interviews
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
Other Trends in College Admissions
• Admissions counselors reveal:
o Rigor comes up often; looking at caliber of
courses
o Through the SSR and HS Profiles,
colleges can discern how many AP and
Honors level courses were offered.
Did the student take advantage of
available courses?
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.
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 School Counselor and list schools to which you are applying. (Be sure to tell your
School Counselor 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 School Counselor to send your transcript
and letters of rec.
9. Go to FAFSA.ed.gov and create a PIN number.
10. Go back after Jan 1 and complete your FAFSA.
11. Wait for notification from colleges.
12. If colleges send emails 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.
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!
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