College Planning
College Application Sites
College Application & Admissions Timeline - What should I be doing right now...grade by grade
Common Application - Explore more than 900 colleges
Coalition Application - 150 top colleges and universities committed to improving access to higher education
Common Black College Application - Pay one $20 application fee to apply to all 61 HBCU member organizations
Undocumented Students Resources - The purpose of this page is to provide resources and information for undocumented high school students, both with and without DACA, to help families make informed decisions about their futures and acquire the tools they need to advocate for themselves at the high school and college levels.
College Representative Visits - Every fall and spring admissions reps from around the country and world travel to high schools to meet with students to talk about admissions and to answer any questions students may have. You can find out which schools are visiting by going to the home page of Naviance, clicking on what's new and you will see a list of college visits. You can click on the school, click register, print the page, and use that as your pass from class.
Colleges That Track Demonstrated Interest - Trying to understand how demonstrated interest factors into a college/university you're considering? Then check out our list of institutions where demonstrated interest is deemed important or very important.
The College Interview: Sample questions - great to practice with a friend or family member
NON-Restrictive Application Plans:
• Early Action/Priority- Apply early and receive a decision well in advance of the institution’s regular response date
• Regular Decision- Students submit an application by a specified date and receive a decision in a clearly stated period of time
• Rolling Admission- Institutions review applications as they are submitted and render admission decisions throughout the admissions cycle
Restrictive Application Plans:
Early Decision BINDING– Students make a commitment to a first choice institution where, if admitted they definitely will enroll. The application deadline and decision deadline occur early.
Restrictive Early Action – Students apply to an institution of preference and receive a decision early. They may be restricted from applying ED or EA or REA to other institutions. If offered enrollment, they have until May to confirm. Both your parents AND counselor will need to sign the early decision agreement.
What to do if you have been deferred- If you apply Early Action or Early Decision to a college, you may be admitted, denied to deferred. A deferral is a college's way of saying "maybe".
College Research Sites - How do I begin my search?
Niche - This site gives you access to tons of statistics as well as student reviews and letter grades for different aspects of student life. You’ll also see lists of the best schools in different categories based on reviews. If you’re looking for a comprehensive overview of what’s offered by colleges, this is a great resource.
My Future - You know you want to go to college; now you have to pick one. Considering the thousands of schools out there, this can be a daunting task. Make it easier to find the right college by researching your options and knowing what to look for.
College Confidential - You can fill out your preferences in over 20 different categories including location, majors, Greek life, party scene, and special services. Based on your answers and how important these factors are to you, you’ll get matched with schools that fit you best
Peterson's - This site is good for learning about application timelines and getting yourself organized for college as well as searching for schools that meet your criteria. There are articles with helpful tips about choosing colleges, applying to college, and getting financial aid and scholarships.
Big Future - A good place to find out about colleges if you’re just starting out in your search. It caters to students who might not know where to begin and guides you through the research process. There's a guide called "College Search Step-by-Step" for students who are unsure of how to go about the search process. It will ask specific questions about what you are looking for in a school and give you a "snapshot" of your preferences to help you decide where to apply.
College Insight - If you’re a more scientifically minded person, this site will probably appeal to you. You have the option to start your search with a specific college, a topic that interests you, or with building your own table of different variables to compare schools across any metric you choose.
Unigo - It has a modern design and includes tons of reviews in written and video format from students at the colleges. Based on student feedback, schools are rated on a scale of 1-10 for a bunch of different factors including campus safety, political activity, arts culture, Greek life, intellectual life, and more.
College Navigator - This site (put out by the National Center for Educational Statistics) doesn’t have the prettiest interface, but it’s useful for finding reliable data about any college in the country. If you already know what school you want, you can search for it directly. You can also search by state or even area code. There are filters for degree level and type of college as well, so you can search for just public or private colleges or just 4-year colleges.
Personal Statement remarks from Johns Hopkins University
Evaluate Early Decision Or Early Action Responses: If you have been accepted Early Decision and you choose to stay in that school, you will need to withdraw your applications from all other schools where you no longer want to attend. If you have been accepted Early Action, you can either choose to accept now or wait to receive responses from the other schools you applied to.
Requesting Transcripts - Class of 2024 - You will not be able to make official transcript requests until August 1