Sr College App Guide

							             PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:
           A QUICK GUIDE TO THE COLLEGE
               APPLICATION PROCESS
                                                             College/Career Center
                                                            Stevenson High School


IMPORTANT DATES IN THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS

In order to guarantee the most efficient processing, we suggest that Stevenson
seniors follow the suggested application deadlines below:

       All public university applications: October 15th
       Early Decision I/Early Action applications: October 15th
       All other 4-year college applications: December 1st
       2-year college applications: March 1st

HOW TO SEND TRANSCRIPTS

Stevenson High School sends transcripts electronically through Parchment.
Families need to first register with Parchment and then may send transcripts to
any college, the NCAA and other destinations. [Students filing the Common
Application do not use Parchment; see item below.]

To register, go to www.parchment.com and follow directions to “Sign In”.
       If the student is younger than 18, we suggest the parent set up the
Parchment account; if the student is 18, s/he may set up a student account.
       Transcripts sent within a 12-state region are free; there is a $2.55 fee
charged for any other transcripts.

Parchment also offers a College Discovery, Newsletter and Discussion Board
service. As student information could be provided to third parties such as
colleges, test prep companies, etc , we advise you to opt out of these services.

THE COMMON APPLICATION

The Common Application is used by 490 colleges and universities. Students need
to set up an account at www.commonapp.org. Students can complete the
Common App once and then submit to it any school that is a member of the
program.
Please note the following three items:
       1. Nearly every college has a supplement consisting of additional essays
          and information unique to that college. Students need to be aware of
          the additional work required to complete each supplement.
       2. Students do not use Parchment to send a transcript to the Common
          Application. Students need only “invite” their counselor to serve as
          recommender on the Common Application, and the counselor will
          append a transcript to the Common Application on behalf of the
          student. Students should speak with their counselor prior to inviting
          them to participate.
       3. Students must first ask a teacher if s/he will write a letter of
          recommendation on their behalf before inviting the teacher to write a
          letter using the Common Application system.

SELF-REPORTED ACADEMIC RECORDS

A small [but growing] number of public universities do not use transcripts in
their initial admission process. Schools like the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, University of Iowa, Iowa State University, University of Kansas and
the University of California system ask students to self-report their academic
courses and grades earned. [If a student is accepted and plans to attend, these
schools will ask for a final transcript in June.] If a school uses this method, there
is no need to send a transcript.

HOW TO SEND TEST SCORES

Stevenson does not include test scores on its transcript. Students need to send
their scores directly from the test agencies – www.act.org or
www.collegboard.org. It can take up to two weeks for such a score request to be
attached to student’s application.

COLLEGE REP VISITS TO STEVENSON

Each fall, Stevenson hosts approximately 200 college representatives on our
campus. An updated list of college rep visits can be found on our Naviance site.
Students need to come to the CCC to get a pass to attend a rep visit and get a
pass from us which must be signed by the classroom teacher at least two days
prior to the visit in order to attend a rep presentation.

WWW.D125.ORG/COLLEGE

The College/Career Center maintains an updated web site that will give you all
the information you need to keep abreast of college counseling activities, news,
and events. Make it a habit to check our website regularly to keep “in the know”
about all things college.

We are here to assist you in any way we can. Good luck!

                                Bob Foltin and Sue Biemeret, College Counselors
                                  Ruth Hedberg, CCC Administrative Assistant