Application Guide

Step Up to College Guide

 A thorough guide to the process

Create a Resume

Include work experience, extracurriculars, special awards, and any volunteer experience. 

Find your match

Use these tools to help identify your interests and colleges that match them

Research Colleges

Ask yourself first what you want in a school. Do you want to go far or stay close to home? How important is athletics to you? Do you want to be in a city or our in the country? Do you want to go to a small school or a big school? 

College Essay

The Common App essay is used for almost all institution applications. There is a list of seven prompts that you can pick from. Check to see if the school you're applying to requires additional essays!

Common App

The Common App is an easy-to-use general application that thousands of schools use.

-request a fee waiver for all the applications, if needed.

-Sign the FERPA waiver of consent once you have colleges on your list.

-Your Common App account will “Match” with your Xello account to send all your documents like transcripts and letters of recommendation to schools.

FAFSA

The first step to paying for college is completing the FAFSA! The form opens October 1st. Some schools require a more detailed form (CSS)

Scholarships

Apply to as many scholarships as you can. Scholarships do not have to be paid back and can make a large contribution to college expenses.