During my oldest son’s college application process, we learned some important tips. I am sharing them below:

College Recommendation Letters Tips

1. Be clear about the specific college deadlines. Also, don’t wait until the last minute to ask for a recommendation. Have backup recommenders too –  just in case the top picks aren’t able to write letters. 

2. When asking (counselors, teachers, etc.) for necessary recommendations, it helps if students give each of them an outline of their academic record and their extracurricular activities. A stamped, addressed envelope and any other required college forms should also be provided by the student. Be aware that each college has its own requirements.

3. Consider who you really want to write the recommendation letters. Which potential recommenders does your teen really respect and have a genuine relationship with? Which of them really likes and appreciates your teen? (Parent-teacher meetings are a great way to gauge this. I could tell the difference between the teachers who were really invested in my son versus those who viewed him as just another kid in their class.)

4. Make sure that the people who are asked can honestly recommend your teen. It helps if they have had various interactions over an extended period of time. Generic praise just isn’t very helpful. It is better when the recommender can include specific examples of the student’s strengths and accomplishments. 

5. Remember that the letter should not just focus on the student’s academic achievement and extracurricular activities. Work ethic, leadership skills and character are also key. Overall, colleges want to know that the student has a strong potential to succeed at their college (and beyond). That is why (if possible) recommendations should be tailored specifically to the particular college to which the student is applying.

6. Remind students to send thank-you notes to each recommendation writer. They are taking time out of their lives to help college applicants. (The high school guidance team often meets with seniors working on their college applications. They appreciate thanks too!)

Ultimately, college recommendation letters should help to clearly paint a picture of the student’s unique qualities and why they are a great fit for the specific colleges that they are applying to. By following the tips discussed in this post, students can increase their chances of getting strong letters that will help them stand out to college admissions committees.

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{Photo by Jan Antonin Kolar on Unsplash}

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Participating in activities outside of the classroom can demonstrate a student’s commitment to a certain field of study, demonstrate leadership skills, and provide evidence of their ability to work with others. It’s a great way for students to develop their interests, make connections with like-minded students and have an impact on their community

Engaging in extracurricular activities can also help students gain valuable skills that will come in handy later in life, such as time management, problem-solving and communication. Colleges want to see that students have taken initiative outside of the classroom, and extracurricular activities can provide evidence of that. 

Additionally, extracurricular activities can help students develop interests and passions so that they can be sure that they are applying to the right college and are pursuing fitting majors. Besides, having fun makes the high school experience more enjoyable.

There is such a wide range of extracurriculars that are available that it can be difficult to decide what to do. Activities don’t all need to be school-related either. There is a maximum of 10 activities that can be included in the activities section of the Common App. Clubs, community engagement, church activities, the arts, hobbies, sports, work, volunteering and extra family responsibilities are some examples of what can be included.

Since there are many benefits of having meaningful extracurricular activities when applying to college, I have included an example high school timeline below:

Extracurricular Activities Timeline

• FRESHMAN: This year is a great time for students to get acquainted with the extracurricular opportunities that are available to them.
• SOPHOMORE: Students should start looking for an activity that they can be passionate about and start (or continue) participating in it.
• JUNIOR: It is an important year for extracurricular activities. Think about the ones that students want to include in their college applications. Consider how to play a leading, impactful role in one or two of their top picks. Summer jobs, internships and volunteer positions also count.
• SENIORS: Students still need to remain involved in extracurricular activities.

If students aren’t exactly sure where to start, they can skim through PrepScholar’s Complete List of Extracurricular Activities: 100s of Examples. Extracurricular activities are definitely a great way for students to give their college applications a boost and demonstrate their commitment to learning and growth.

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College Admission Essay Help Articles

New York University (NYU)

3 Tips to Choose the Right Common App Essay Prompt
Direction regarding choosing the best essay question

6 Proofreading Habits for Your College Essay and Beyond
A bonus tip was included by email: Have someone—whether it’s a family member, counselor, teacher, or friend—read your essay beforehand (without telling them the essay prompt) to make sure you’re being as clear as you possibly can.

Queens Library

College Readiness: How To Write A Great College Application Essay
Queens Library has an abundance of college prep resources. In this post, Dr. Padurano of Crimson Coaching shares tips on planning and brainstorming the essay as well as reasons why it is more important than ever.

Resources

Prospective Colleges

Many colleges share helpful information about writing personal statements and supplemental essays on their websites. Some also offer virtual essay prep workshops where they share story-writing tips and offer opportunities to ask questions.

Story2

This online writing platform’s College EssayBuilder® teaches students how to write college essays that appeal to admissions officers. It takes users through the 5 steps of the Moments Method storytelling process. Someone from their organization did a “College Essay Essentials Workshop” at my oldest son’s former school, Townsend Harris.

Students can create a free account, where they’ll have access to use the platform for writing as many story drafts as they’d like. The free version also comes with three on-demand, pre-recorded classes about storytelling in the college admissions process. Here is the link to sign up for a free account. 

Student’s High School

Students can write the first drafts of their essays and ask their teachers and/or other trusted advisors to read them. Many English departments spend several months helping students with their essay.

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Transcripts are important because they are the primary academic records that show colleges what classes were taken and what grades were received by applicants. Colleges use transcripts to help evaluate a potential student’s academic performance –  including the difficulty of their chosen high school curriculum, progress over time and the overall grade point average (GPA).

It’s important to note that GPA is only one part of the transcript. Also, students don’t need to worry about false comparisons due to weighted and unweighted averages.  (Weighted averages consider class difficulty when determining the grade.) High schools report both weighted and unweighted averages for each applicant.

High School Transcripts Reminders:

1. Seniors should ask counselors to send their initial transcripts to colleges on their final college list.

2. It is important to give counselors enough time – at least two weeks before the colleges require them –  to send the transcripts.  Since the deadlines for regular decision college applications are usually around the beginning of January, many high schools need transcript requests by early-to-mid December.

(Transcripts for early admission students should have already been submitted back in October.) 

3. Students also need to request that mid-year grade reports are sent to colleges.

4. Once a final college decision has been made, students should ask their high school to send a final transcript to their chosen college.

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Testing Takeaways:

-Standardized tests play a different role now than in pre-pandemic times. Many colleges are still test-optional for the Class of 2023.

-Test-optional really DOES mean that tests will only be considered if they are submitted. (There are also “test blind” colleges that don’t consider applicants’ test scores at all during the admissions process.)

-Colleges are taking a more holistic approach to admissions.  Academic transcripts, essays, recommendations and activities are looked at (with or without test scores) to create a bigger picture of whether or not a student is a great fit for a particular college.

-Students aren’t penalized for not submitting scores to test-optional schools so if the tests aren’t the best reflection of the student’s ability, consider not submitting them.

-Research your prospective school’s profile (which includes the median test scores of its accepted students) to help.

-Consider doing a series of tests. By starting in your JUNIOR year, you can see your strengths & areas where you need to improve before taking the test again.

-It is often recommended to take the SAT 2 – 3 times. (Scores tend to drop after the third time.)

-Give yourself time to take the tests in time to submit them with your application whether you are applying for early decision or regular decision.

-Many (not all) colleges accept superscores – taking the best individual score by section and adding them together regardless of the test date. (*We didn’t have that option back in my day – decades ago!)

-There is no disadvantage/students won’t be penalized for using superscores.

-When deciding whether to take the SAT or ACT, consider which one your high school offers test prep for.

-If you take both the SAT and ACT, you can submit both or the one with the highest overall scores. (You can google “SAT to ACT conversion chart” to compare scores.)

-For those who qualify, you can get up to 2 SAT fee waivers and 4 ACT fee waivers.

-Many test-optional colleges, still require international students to take English language proficiency tests.

These are my main standardized test takeaways. Derek Terrell of Coalition for College did a great job moderating the panel and the panelists (Grace Bradley, Holly Buttrey, Thomas Bear and Cris Perlongo) were all excellent.

You can watch the recording of the All About Testing event on the Coalition for College’s website.

Standardized Tests Registration Information

For those who do want to take the standardized tests, I am including testing information below. This information is primarily for juniors because relevant SAT and ACT* dates have already passed for seniors. However, the AP exams are relevant for both since they are administered in schools over two weeks in May.

-You can get testing dates, a FREE Test Prep Guide for the American College Test (ACT exam) and more on the ACT website.

-The College Board administers the PSAT and SAT. It is worth noting that the College Board discontinued SAT Subject Tests and optional essays in the United States back in 2021.

The College Board also administers the Advanced Placement (AP exams) that measure how well students have mastered the content and skills of specific AP courses. (Many colleges award college credits for high AP exam scores.)

*The registration deadline for the 12/10 ACT date has been extended through November 15th this year. (Late fees apply.)

Studying and Practicing for the Tests

If students decide to take standardized tests, many high schools offer free test prep programs. Khan Academy also offers free Official SAT online practice to all students.

Most importantly, be sure to check the testing policies of the colleges on your college list to be clear about their individual decisions on the testing topic.

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{Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash}

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Every college website is required (by federal law) to have this college grant estimation tool on its website. You can find the link for your desired school’s net price calculator on the U.S. Department of Education’s Net Price Calculator Center or the College Board’s Net Price Calculator.

You can also google “(school name) net price calculator” or type “net price calculator” in the search bar of a potential college’s website to be directed to the tool. 

With each school’s calculator, you can get the general amount that your family will be expected to contribute towards your child’s college education per year. Basically, the net price is the “sticker price” for the college minus need-based grants. (Loans are excluded from the estimate.)

The college net price calculators are not financial aid applications. They are also not a guarantee of financial aid. Rather, it’s a good estimate tool. 

For each calculator, you will be asked for some basic family information. Your most recent year’s gross wages and other income (interest, dividend, business, farm, real estate, etc.) information is needed. The most recent year’s assets (cash and investments, business and farm equity, other real estate equity, etc.) will also be required.

Both parent and student income and assets are used in formulating the net price estimate of your family’s costs. Estimates include the cost to parents, expected student asset contributions and projected contributions from students’ work during the school terms.

Colleges consider a variety of billed and unbilled costs when calculating their net price estimate. Depending on the college, various costs (tuition and fees, room and board, books, personal expenses, travel, etc.) are taken into account. 

Net Price Calculator Notes

-Each college has its own net price calculator, so there are slight variations in the questions that need to be answered.

-If parents are separated or divorced, each parent should fill out the calculator with their personal information. Each parent’s contribution (based on their income and assets) is assessed separately.

The total estimated net price is usually the sum of the estimates for the two parents. (Remarried parents should not include their new spouse’s/the student’s step-parent’s income and assets.)

-Income information (tax forms and other financial documents) will be verified later when you complete the actual financial aid application for each school.

-The U.S. Department of Education has a helpful College Affordability and Transparency Center site. On their affordability page, you can find information about tuition and net prices at postsecondary institutions. 

Personal Notes

-My son Michael ended up having eight potential colleges on his final college list. I completed the net price calculator for each of the colleges to get an idea of what our out-of-pocket costs would be. 

-Michael is very frugal so most of his choices were city colleges with great computer science programs. He also initially put down Columbia (my alma mater) to humor me and New York University (NYU).

-All of the NYC city colleges were reasonable – less than $10,000 per year. Columbia was not super expensive either. I initially thought that the NYU net price calculator was broken because our estimated costs were almost $20,000 more per year than for Columbia. (It wasn’t…) 

-I’m happy that Michael wanted to stay in New York. He ended up going to an Honors College. He was really fortunate because we ended up paying less than $100 for tuition this year and he received a free computer as part of the program. (Yes!)

If he had wanted to go out of state, I would have encouraged him to apply to a school with a fantastic endowment like Harvard. They kept sending him information and the Harvard financial aid packages are amazing. Our expected family contribution (EFC) would have been more expensive than NYC city colleges but less expensive than some SUNY colleges.

If you want to know an estimate of how much grant money your family would likely receive from a particular college, use the net price calculator. I found that it provided pretty accurate information. (You might even end up paying less if your child receives additional merit scholarships.)

It’s free and easy to use the net price calculators so I recommend filling them out for each college that your student is interested in. You might be surprised at the affordability of some colleges that you might assume are outside of your family’s budget.

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What Is the CSS Profile?

CollegeBoard’s CSS Profile is an online application that is used to determine eligibility for financial aid. Almost 250 colleges are using the 2023-24 Profile. It was created and is maintained by the College Board and is used to award college financial aid, grants and scholarships from sources outside of the federal government.

You can check to see which schools require the application by checking the CollegeBoard’s 2023-24 participating institutions and programs page. You can also learn how to apply on the College Board’s CSS Profile page. (We filled out the application for my son last year and it was pretty easy.)

5 Application Tips

1. The CSS Profile opens each fall. The 2023-24 Profile opened on October 1, 2022. The application deadline varies based on the chosen institutions and programs. It is strongly suggested that you apply as soon as possible instead of waiting for the due date though.

2. Before starting the application, note that you will need your most recently completed tax returns, W-2 forms and other records of your current year’s income as well as records of untaxed income and benefits, assets and bank statements.

3. You don’t have to complete the application in one sitting. You can save it and return back to it later if you need to do so.

Another great thing is that you can make changes after submitting the application. You just click“Correct Your CSS Profile” on your dashboard.

4. Submitting your CSS Profile to one college or scholarship program costs $25 for the first application. Additional reports are $16 each. The application is free for families (of domestic undergraduate students) who make up to $100,000/year though.

5. Some participating institutions require applications from both biological parents in divorced or separated families. If the student doesn’t have contact with their noncustodial parent, they can submit a waiver request. You can learn more at the CSS Profile’s Divorced or Separated Parents Info page.

Tutorial

If you are a visual person, you can visit CollegeBoard’s 2023-24 CSS Profile Tutorial page. It’s a walkthrough of how to complete the application.

Since the CSS Profile provides access to more than $10 billion in nonfederal aid each year, apply (if needed) and get your portion.

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Each year, the office of Federal Student Aid provides more than $112 billion in grants, work-study, and loan funds each year to help pay for college or career school. If you can, get your portion!

FAFSA is now open and available so colleges are urging families to file the form. It’s important to complete and file the FAFSA. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there about it. That is why I’m sharing some important things to note about the FAFSA as well as resources to help you complete it.

Noteworthy 2023-24 FAFSA Tips

1. The 2023-24 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available and ready for you to file online on the Federal Student Aid site. It has been open since October 1st. *Please note that their myStudent Aid app (which was used by those who preferred a mobile app) was retired on June 30, 2022.

You and your dependent student must establish a Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) before completing the FAFSA. You can visit FSAID.ed.gov to create one. It can be used as your electronic signature for the FAFSA and related transactions for future years. ***Don’t share your FSA ID with anyone since they act as legal signatures. Even if your family is receiving help filling out the FAFSA, don’t share it.

Along with the FSA ID, you will need your Social Security Number or your Alien Registration Number (if you are not a U.S. citizen) and your federal income tax returns, W-2s, and other records of money earned.

In addition, (if applicable) bank statements and records of investments and records of untaxed income are needed to complete the FAFSA. 

2. The FAFSA helps to determine your teen’s eligibility for awards and other need-based financial assistance. It is the primary document that the federal government and most schools require before they consider students for federal financial assistance (such as federal grants, scholarships, student loans and work-study programs).

Many colleges also use the FAFSA to determine eligibility for additional assistance from state and private sources. That is why the FAFSA is most important in helping to secure as much funding as possible for your teen’s college education.

3. The 2023-24 FAFSA will use 2021 Federal Income Tax Return information. If you are eligible, consider using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS DRT) to import your 2021 tax information into the FAFSA.

It is an easy way to provide the necessary data and to make certain that your FAFSA has the correct information. The IRS encrypts the tax information that is transferred to your FAFSA for security.  

4. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to file your FAFSA right away. Since most schools use the FAFSA to distribute their own school-funded assistance (and some types of school financial assistance are offered on a first-come, first-served basis), fill out the form as early as possible. 

You can find federal, college and state FAFSA deadlines on the Federal Student Aid’s FAFSA® Deadlines page. The 2023-24 form must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CT on June 30, 2024, but the sooner that you apply, the more time your family will have to make the best college financial plans. Just be sure to include any schools that your teen is considering attending on the form. (Each school has its own FAFSA code.)

5. Even if you don’t believe that your teen will qualify for federal financial aid, complete the FAFSA anyway.  You might be surprised by how much aid you’re eligible to receive. Besides, many scholarships and grant programs will still require a FAFSA for consideration.

5 FREE Helpful FAFSA Resources

If you have questions about the FAFSA and/or need help completing the FAFSA, there are several free options:

1. Online help is available at the Federal Student Aid site.

2. You can contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243) and a customer service representative will assist you.

3. Many high schools provide help through their guidance offices. They often partner with city or state financial aid and higher education organizations to offer free online or in-person professional assistance

4. Contact the financial aid team at your teen’s prospective college or university. 

5. The College Board has partnered with Benefits Data Trust—a national nonprofit—to connect Opportunity Scholarship participants with Wyatt^℠, a free around-the-clock FAFSA-assistance chatbot that answers questions via text message. 

If your teen hasn’t signed up for the College Board’s FREE Opportunity Scholarship program, consider doing so. Seniors can sign up at Get FAFSA Help.

With all of the free help that is available, think twice before paying someone to help you fill out the FAFSA.

Personal FAFSA Thoughts

1. The FAFSA isn’t very difficult to complete. With all of the presentation information that parents of Seniors received, I thought that it would be much more difficult to complete than it was. I suggest that you use the IRS DRT that I mentioned earlier in this post. It really saved time and helped to simplify the process.

2. The government’s idea of financial need and my idea of financial need were very different! After you submit the FAFSA, you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that shares your eligibility for federal student aid.

The SAR includes your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is the amount that your family is expected to contribute to your student’s college education each year. A college will subtract the EFC from the total cost of attendance at their institution in order to calculate how much need-based aid your child is eligible for.

I don’t think that the EFC is accurate at all because it doesn’t factor in geographical differences in the cost of living for families. My family’s EFC ended up being multiple five figures (?!) As such, we would have received little to no need-based aid at the schools on our son’s college list.

While there are no income limits to apply for the FAFSA, I should have known that my family wouldn’t receive a lot. For instance, the income limit for an automatic zero EFC was $27,000 for 2022-23. The income threshold for an automatic zero Expected Family Contribution did slightly increase from $27,000 to $29,000 for the 2023-24 award year though.

If you want to get an early estimate of your Expected Family Contribution and eligibility for federal student aid, you can use the Federal Student Aid Estimator.

3. Get your finances in order. Start saving as early as possible. On the positive side, my husband and I have been saving for our sons’ college through a 529 plan since they were young. I’m happy that those automatic deductions really added up over time!

If you’re a six-figure+ family I suggest meeting with an accountant or financial planner as early as possible to come up with a comprehensive college savings plan. Take College Ave’s helpful How to Get More Money From FAFSA post with you.

Especially during your teen’s junior year of college, ask your advisor how you can (legally!) adjust your assets to minimize your family’s EFC.

4. You can appeal. If your family is experiencing a negative financial impact that isn’t reflected on the FAFSA, contact prospective schools directly. They sometimes offer “professional judgments” in special circumstances when there have been significant changes in income or expenses.

The judgment allows their team to adjust certain elements on the FAFSA to account for special circumstances that have not been adequately considered. We didn’t appeal but I think that it’s important for families to know that the option is available.

5. Don’t let the financial aspect of college stress your family out. There are options. For instance, our oldest son chose to enroll in a Computer Science Honors Scholar Program at a local City College. He received scholarships, a computer and more. He could have gone to a more expensive college and tapped into his college savings. I’m not upset that he didn’t though!  

I hope that you found this information useful and that filling out the FAFSA is relatively painless for your family.

P.S. This 18 “I’m Telling FAFSA” Tweets That’ll Make You Laugh, Then Say “Too Real” Buzzfeed post put a smile on my face. As a Starbucks caramel frappe drinker, I especially appreciated this one:

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It’s important to take the time to carefully fill out the Common Application. That is why I’m going to discuss the various application steps for first-year students. I hope that this information will make the application process easier.

What Is the Common App?

The Common App allows students to apply to multiple schools through one application. It is an overall application and is not specific to a particular college. It’s also a great place to explore its member colleges. You can search by college name or by various criteria (i.e. region, financial aid and mission).

It was designed to help streamline the application process so that students don’t need to keep filling out the same information on multiple applications. Rather, they put the general information in once and it goes to all of the schools that they are applying to through the Common App.

All schools don’t accept the Common Application but there are 1,000+ colleges on the Common App. It’s the student’s general information that is shared across the network of schools. Each college on the app has its own questions (and sometimes additional essays) so applicants must make sure that they know the requirements of the colleges that they are interested in.

As such, make sure that your seniors give themselves enough time to thoroughly complete each section of the app.

Creating a Common Application 2022-23 Account

If the applicant is in high school and hasn’t graduated yet, create a“first-year student” account. Even if the student has taken some college courses during the senior year of high school, choose this option.

Since the app information is the main way that colleges get in touch with applicants, be certain that your teen includes the correct information. Make sure that they use the email that they actually use on a regular basis and choose a password that they will remember. In addition, have them check to see if they have entered their name, address, date of birth, etc. accurately.

If your teen is constantly on their phone or tablet, they also have a Common App for mobile that they can download to work on their Common App.

***Parents, you can also set up a “Practice Applicant” account if you want to be able to walk through what your teens will be experiencing.***

Common App Sections

When students create their accounts and log in, there are various sections including profile, family (history), education, testing, activities, writing and courses & grades. 

Background Information

In the profile section, applicants will include some personal information. This includes citizenship information and social security number requests. This year, there have been some new sex and gender related changes (i.e. gender-neutral prefixes and the addition of “legal” before“first/given name” followed by an option to share a different first name that respondents use).

This section is also where students can apply for a Common Application 2022-23 fee waiver if they qualify. While the Common App platform is free to use, many colleges charge an additional application fee that students will have to pay when submitting their applications.

There has been changes to the fee waiver request questions on the app this year. You can read more about that on Common App’s Evolving the Application page and see if your family qualifies for a fee waiver by visiting the Common App’s fee waiver information page.  

In the family section, applicants share information about their parents, siblings and any children that they might have.

In the education section, be sure to list all high schools that the students have attended. If they have any college credits, be sure to include the college information also. The students should also list all of the classes that they are currently taking as seniors so that the colleges can see their academic progression.

In the testing section, students are asked if they wish to self-report scores from standardized tests, AP exams and the like. (They will still need to send official score reports also.)

In the courses & grades section, students inform colleges about courses that they have taken. Not all colleges require this section but if you are applying to one of the listed colleges, have a copy of your transcript(s) available.

Activities

The activities section gives the college insight into what students are doing outside of the classroom. There is a maximum of 10 activities that can be included. Thoughts for students to consider include the following: “What are you most proud of? What has been impactful? Which did you spend the most time involved in?”

This section is basically about how students spend their time outside of classes. Activities don’t all need to be school-related either. Clubs, community engagement, church activities, the arts, hobbies, sports, work, volunteering, extra family responsibilities and other meaningful experiences are just some examples that fall in this category.

Students are asked how many hours per week and weeks per year that they are involved in the various activities. If students are unsure, encourage them to track their activities for 1 to 2 weeks in order to get a good estimate.

Writing Section

This section has several parts to it. The Common Application Essay will go to all of the colleges that students are applying to so don’t make the essay university-specific.

There are 7 first-year essay prompts that students can choose from. The Common App essay prompts will remain the same for 2022-2023 and can be found on the Common App’s essay prompts page. (Each Common App essay word limit is 650 words.)

There is an additional information box that will pop up in this section. It’s where students can let the colleges know any additional context that was missing in their application or if they would like to clarify anything.

This is also where students can share any lasting impacts that COVID-19 has had on them, their families and their learning environments.

Adding Colleges to the Common App

Adding colleges to the My College section is how students will submit applications to their preferred colleges. Students can search for and add up to 20 colleges to their Common App profile.

Each school that is included on the app has its own profile that includes helpful information like deadlines, fees, testing policy, and various materials that they require.

Students can add and delete schools up until the various school application deadlines. Also, it’s good to note that the colleges can’t see any of the other schools where students are applying to attend on the College App. 

FERPA and Adding Recommenders

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) release gives students the choice of whether or not to waive their rights to review their recommendations and supporting documents. Colleges like for rights to be waived so that they will receive more candid, truthful responses but it’s up to the student to make that choice.

Some colleges and universities require recommenders. That is why there is space on the app for students to add various recommenders (counselors, teachers, advisors and other recommenders).

The recommender can then submit their recommendations through the Common App or directly to the colleges and universities (electronically or by mail). 

More Tips

• Be aware of deadlines and don’t wait until the last minute to complete and submit the application.
• Once the application is already submitted, students can’t make changes through the Common App. They will have to contact colleges directly.
• If your family needs more help, visit the Common App’s help or contact pages.

Learn More

*The Common App site provides its own step-by-step application guides for both first-year students and transfer students.)

*There are many articles and presentations about the Common App. One that I found especially helpful last year and referenced the most in this post was a virtual presentation on the topic by the University of San Francisco.

(USF is holding a “The Common Application” virtual event this year on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at 8 pm EST. You can register for it on their Dons Prepare site.)

*Lastly, you might find this Common App first-year application 2022–2023 walkthrough video valuable:

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What Is Naviance?

Naviance is a secure, web-based college research tool. This college and career readiness platform allows families to analyze current college application trends in order to plan and organize college searches. 

Since Naviance is used in many high school counseling offices, it is helpful for parents to know about it. According to the company, 40 percent of U.S.  high school students use Naviance in partnership with school guidance departments.

Naviance Login

High schools that use this tool will provide Naviance student login information for students. As juniors (or earlier for some high schools), students will use it to begin the college search process. Senior year students continue to use Naviance as a college application tool. 

Parents can also get an account that is linked to their student’s account. If you are a parent of a student (in grades 10 – 12) in a Naviance school, ask your child to register you/link you to his or her account. 

For Parents

It is good for parents to have that connection in order to receive updates from counseling offices and to be able to contact their teen’s guidance counselor. Every family is different so I recommend having a conversation with your teen regarding what else they want you to do with their Naviance account.

Questions to consider asking your teen include the following:

• Are you comfortable with me viewing and monitoring their activity? 
• Do you want me to suggest colleges and careers by adding them to your student list? 
• Can I view your assessment results?

Tools

Naviance provides a variety of college planning and career assessment tools. Personality assessments, resume tools, detailed college profiles, a student/college matching function, scholarship information and Scattergrams are just some of the resources.

Scattergrams

The Scattergrams tool uses historical acceptance data to help students be aware of their acceptance odds for various colleges. The data is entered by the student’s high school guidance office to show how many students from their high school applied, were admitted, waitlisted, or denied at a particular college in the past few years. 

Data points include grade point averages and standardized test (SAT and ACT) scores. This helps students narrow down their reach, target and safety/likelier schools on their college lists.

Scattergrams can be a useful measurement tool BUT it is not exact and should not definitely prevent students from applying to their desired colleges. Remember, many colleges are now test-optional and are taking a holistic approach to applicants.

SuperMatch

SuperMatch is another helpful college tool. Students select various criteria to determine if potential colleges would be a great fit. Location, cost, school size, religious affiliation, academic programs, athletics, admissions competitiveness and racial diversity are some of the criteria that can be placed into “Must Have” or “Nice to Have” categories.

Results can then be customized. Students are able to pin schools that they want to compare and “favorite” ones that they want to add to their “Colleges That I’m Thinking About” list.

More About Naviance

Naviance also interfaces with the Common Application which I will write about later this week. Once students have linked both accounts, Naviance can send transcripts, recommendation letters and other supporting documents to the Common App. (For instance, students will add their teacher requests for letters of recommendation only on Naviance.) 

Students track their college admissions decisions through Naviance. When admission decisions are received from colleges, students will notify their counseling office through their accounts.

The results of every single college (not just the college that students decided to attend) need to be updated. In addition to college results, all scholarship information that students were offered for all schools (not just the college that they will be attending) needs to be included in their Naviance accounts. 

To summarize, Naviance is a valuable tool that streamlines the college research process. If your teen’s high school offers Naviance, become familiar with the system and encourage your teen to fully use it. (I wish that they had something like this for every student!)

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