Am I ready to leave my home?/ Do I want to leave my home? If so, how far?
What am I passionate about?
Developing a College List
Create a college list of about 20 schools that are of interest to you, taking into account factors such as: size, location, quality of a particular academic or extracurricular program, type of students, faculty/student ratio, housing availability, guidance and support for students, overall cost, etc.
The final goal is to come up with a balanced group of ten schools (CUNY’s, SUNY’s, and private schools) that fall into three categories: Reach, Match, and Safety.
Reach school is one where your chances of admission are less likely, but where you have some chance of admission.
Match school is one where your credentials for admission are truly competitive and you are qualified for admission.
Safety school is one where your credentials are very competitive, and where we are confident that you will be admitted.
If you need help developing a college list, please visit: http://admissionsblog.siena.edu/how-to-build-an-air-tight-college-list
Types of Applications
Once a decision to apply to a school has been reached, you should begin listing your schools on Naviance under “Colleges I’m applying to” link. You MUST read each college's requirements and follow the instructions carefully. Pay close attention to the timetable for each application and comply with the deadlines given by the College Office. Four of the most prevalent schedules are: Regular Decision; Rolling Admission; Early Decision; Early Action (You must mark which of these you are applying as).
Early Decision (ED)
Schools offering Early Decision programs generally allow a student to apply to only one school early and to agree to attend that school if admitted. This is a binding commitment. Further applications cannot be filed after acceptance. Students must read the Early Decision policy of the school. If you plan on applying ED, you must schedule a family meeting with your CTO advisory by October 1st.
Common ED I deadlines: Nov. 1 & 15; ED II: Jan. 1*
Early Action (EA)
Schools offering Early Action programs generally allow students to apply early without restrictions and return decisions to students by early December. If a student is accepted they are not required to attend, but can notify the school of their decision by May 1st. Some EA schools are restrictive and will prohibit EA applications at other institutions. Common EA deadlines: Nov. 1 & 15*
If you plan on applying EA, you must commit to meeting with your advisory early and often during the fall in order to finalize your list and revise college essays and supplements.
*Always check with the office of Admissions website for deadlines.
The Common Application
- Over 800 colleges and universities support the use of the Common Application. The form can be obtained through Naviance, or from their website (www.commonapp.org). We recommend that you use the Common Application, which you will use for most of your schools.
Common Application + Naviance Matching =
After registering for your Common App and adding at least ONE school, you are eligible to MATCH your Naviance account to Common App. Click here to learn how.
However, some schools, such as the University of Maryland, decided to only use the Coalition Application. Students who are applying to such schools should follow the directions below in regards to Naviance. You will note that when you go to Naviance, you will see this icon next to University of Maryland. This icon represents eDocs destinations that accepts documents electronically via Naviance. While you are still able to send out your transcript and recommendation through Naviance, you will need to manually update your application status.
Tips for Filling out the Application
Most Bard Queens students will use the Common Application and/or CUNY Application to submit College Applications. Application guides will be provided for both application portals and discussed during CTO Advisory.
Students are advised not to submit SUNY Portal Applications as we do not maintain a school account for that portal.