General College Application Timeline

Kishwaukee College

Kishwaukee College (Kish) is our local community college. As a resident of the Kishwaukee College district, a portion of your (parent's) property taxes go to supporting Kish and makes taking classes there more affordable than many other college options. Students can choose to take classes toward a 2-year Associate's Degree in a variety of fields, a trade program that may include industry certification, or as a student who intends to later transfer credits to a 4-year college or university. 

If you wish to apply to Kish, you can do so through their website: Apply to Kish

Applying to 4-year Colleges

If you plan to attend a 4-year college or university right after graduation, we recommend planning to apply to at least 3 different schools, with at least one school as a "safety." Your safety school is the one where you would either be guaranteed to be accepted (such as Kish), or extremely likely to be accepted, based on your academic profile. Other applications can go to schools that may have more competitive admissions. Depending on your goals, you may also consider applying to a "reach" school--the type of college that is highly competitive. 

Common App is a college application portal that allows students to apply to and manage applications for many colleges all in one place, and will be the main site that most of our students use to apply to college. This is the right place to get started if you are planning on attending a 4-year college or university after you graduate. 

Common App allows students to fill out one single application and then send it to multiple colleges or universities, saving time and hassle. Supplementary materials that certain colleges require, such as essays or teacher recommendations, can also be managed through Common App. 

If the college or university you wish to apply to is not on Common App, then you will likely need to fill out an electronic application on that particular institution's webpage, making sure you submit any supplementary materials directly to that institution.

One Click College Admit

One Click College Admit is an initiative by the State of Illinois and is the state's free, quick, and stress-free direct admissions program into state public universities and community colleges. Students simply enter their information, including GPA, into their Common App account and participating Illinois colleges can reach back to them via email with admissions offers--no additional fees or essays are necessary. 

Participating schools include:

Chicago State University

Eastern Illinois University

Governer's State University

Northern Illinois University

Northeastern Illinois University

Southern Illinois University (Carbondale)

Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville)

Western Illinois University

Early Decision and Early Action

Students who have a clear preference for one 4-year college or university may want to consider applying to the institution under Early Decision or Early Action. College Board has an excellent explainer about how these early application options work, and the pros and cons to each--you can read more about it HERE.