College Application & Recommendation Letter Process

Going to College? Start your engines!

• We use the term "College" to refer to 2-year and 4-year colleges: Technical, Community, and Universities.

• Explore Naviance for Career & College information. Knowing your career ideas will guide you in the type of education and training you will need. Make sure your college offers the right major for your career/job.

• Look at college websites; find out their requirements, due dates & visit the campus either live or virtually.

• Watch for emails and look on Naviance for "College Rep Visits" from individual colleges. On Naviance, you will find the list of visiting representatives on the front page on the lower right side.

• Go to class and keep up your grades (SENIORITIS is a very contagious and dangerous disease!)

• Attend Senior Night at Mira Loma in August/September 

• Join the Google Classroom for your class. Talk to your counselor to get the Join Codes. We will provide them during our lessons in your English classes as well.

• Create an account on your college website/s and research what is necessary to attend the college: Transcript, Letter of Recommendation, SAT/ACT Scores, Essays, Personal Insight Questions, etc.

• Attend a Lunch Time Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Workshop IF you need a letter of recommendation: Go to counseling office and Google Classroom for dates and locations.

• The college application process can feel overwhelming. Your Mira Loma counselor will help you each step of the way. On the "Senior" page of this website,  you will find presentation that will help you apply to college and obtain a letter of recommendation if you need one. Note that the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) do not require or accept letter of recommendations. 

• The Mira Loma counseling staff is happy to print an unofficial transcript for you to use as you fill out your college applications. Just stop in between classes and ask. You can also use your transcript in Q if you prefer.

College Application Websites:

• Los Rios Community College Application (American River College, Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College, Cosumnes River College):  Community College Application

• California State University Application (23 University Campuses CSU Campus Map):  Cal State Apply

• University of California Application (9 University Campuses UC Campus Map):  UC Application

• Common Application (900+ Universities worldwide):  Common Application

• Common Black College Application (67 Universities): Common Black College Application

 College Application Deadlines:

• Los Rios Community Colleges: Opens in February, but watch for yearly changes -No specific deadline

• California State Universities: October 1-December 1 (Check individual campuses for extensions on deadline CSU Dates & Deadlines)

• University of California: Opens August 1- Submit October 1-December 1

• Common Application: Opens August 1- Varies by College

• Common Black College Application: Varies by College

College Visits:

• Every year, college reps from around the country come to visit our College & Career Center.

• Students can view the schedule and sign up for college visits in their Naviance account. 

Resources:

• Naviance: College & Career Research tool with Career Surveys and College Searches along with Military searches and information. Students log in through their San Juan Portal. No ads, no pop ups, paid for through San Juan Unified for all San Juan students.

• Big Future through College Board: bigfuture.collegeboard.org/ 

• California Colleges.edu:  https://www.californiacolleges.edu/#/ 

• College Navigator:  https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?s=CA&l=93&ct=2&ic=1 

• College Researcher:  https://osar.bppe.ca.gov/researching_colleges.shtml