College Applications
There are three ways to complete a college application:
College Specific Application (found via the college's website)
Common App is most often the easiest and most broadly used by colleges. Another way to apply directly through the SCOIR website - and it is very similar to the Common App and less time consuming.
Both the Common App and SCOIR App allow you to fill out one application and send it to multiple colleges. Sometimes colleges will have a supplemental form to go with the Common/SCOIR Application with additional questions specific to their school.
FERPA WAIVER - In SCOIR & on your college applications you will need to "WAIVE" your rights. Be sure to do this or we will not be able to send your school records or recommendation letters.
Over 900 colleges use the Common Application
We highly recommend students use this application to simplify the process if they are applying to multiple colleges that are Common Application members.
Students can begin filling out the biographical information now and the essay prompts are also publicized.
College specific applications that serve as addendums to the biographical part of the application are available August 1.
Tips for Gathering Materials for Common App
The Common App asks general questions about the SJV Class of 2021 and information about recommenders.
Use this cheat sheet for all the answers:
DO NOT put in teacher or counselor emails on Common App. We send everything through SCOIR, so you do not want to email teachers through Common App asking for another recommendation.
Over 150 colleges use the Scoir Application
A bonus of using the SCOIR application is that it prepopulates several fields from your SCOIR account making it easy to complete and submit to colleges.
A few things to keep in mind when using the SCOIR application:
Privacy is yours! Even though parents & counselors can see certain aspects of your SCOIR account like your college list, the application is completely private. Your parents & counselors will NOT have access to view or read any parts of your application - and that includes the essay.
If you answer "YES" to any of the financial aid questions, SCOIR will automatically generate an application fee waiver to send to colleges.
Once you apply to a college through SCOIR, if the college requires an additional supplemental form, you will be automatically redirected to the college's website and your information will be carried over.
When you apply using the SCOIR application, there is no need to update your college list in SCOIR - it will happen automatically.