The Application Process
Developing a College List
Create a college list of about 20 schools that are of interest to you, taking into account factors such as: size, location, quality of a particular academic or extracurricular program, type of students, faculty/student ratio, housing availability, guidance and support for students, overall cost, etc.
The final goal is to come up with a balanced group of nine schools (up to 6 CUNY’s, 4 SUNY’s, and private schools) that fall into three categories: Reach, Possible, and Likely.
If you need help developing a college list, please visit: http://admissionsblog.siena.edu/how-to-build-an-air-tight-college-list
Types of Applications
Once a decision to apply to a school has been reached, you should begin listing your schools on Naviance under “Colleges I’m applying to” link. You MUST read each college's requirements and follow the instructions carefully. Pay close attention to the timetable for each application and comply with the deadlines given by the College Office. Four of the most prevalent schedules are: Regular Decision; Rolling Admission; Early Decision; Early Action (You must mark which of these you are applying as).
May 1st. If you plan on applying EA, you must attend the Early Decision/ Action meeting in September of your senior year.
Filling out the Application
Read and follow the directions carefully. Do not assume that all schools have the same steps or requirements.
1. Organize and distribute all parts of the application. This includes your forms, and forms for teacher and counselor recommendations. Naviance will list icons that will indicate which schools allow you to send your application electronically, or require an envelope to mail your application and documents. If a school requires your application to be mailed, you must submit a legal sized envelope to the College Office in order to send out letters of recommendations and transcripts. You MUST also submit the green transcript request form to the College office for ALL the schools you are applying to.
2. Give yourself plenty of time. Filling out an application takes longer than
expected. Doing this in advance will reduce a lot of stress by the due dates!
3. Be neat and clear in your presentation. Information must be presented clearly and legibly and questions should be answered directly and honestly.
4. Provide as much information as possible within the structure of the application.
5. Do not worry if you must leave some spaces blank.
6. If you do submit extra pieces of information, you MUST write your name and college identification number, if available, on all materials.
8. Send official copies of your standardized tests to colleges
9. Save and make copies of all materials submitted.
10. Complete Transcript Request form for the College Office and update Naviance
11. Be sure to include any necessary payments and check to confirm receipt of your
application. Check on the status of your application three weeks after it has been sent.
The Common Application
- Over 400 colleges and universities support the use of the Common Application. The form can be obtained through Naviance, or from their website (www.commonapp.org). Check on Naviance to learn if your colleges accept the Common Application.
Coalition application.
Most schools that have the Coalition Application also accept the Common Application. In this case, we recommend that you use the Common Application, which you will use for most of your schools and will be less time spent on filling out an application.
However, some schools, such as the University of Maryland, decided to only use the Coalition Application. Students who are applying to such schools should follow the directions below in regards to Naviance. You will note that when you go to Naviance, you will see this icon next to University of Maryland. This icon represents docufide destinations that accepts documents electronically via Naviance. So, yes, we are still able to send out your transcript and recommendation through Naviance.
COALITION APPLICATION For Naviance
When students at schools using Naviance eDocs fill out the Coalition Application, they will check the box to indicate that they’ll be sending their transcript separately. These students will then request their documents be sent directly to the Coalition Application members using the same work flow and experience that they use for colleges in general.
Link to information about the Coalition Application:
Frequently Asked Questions about the Coalition Application: http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org
University HQ:
Information about various majors, financial aid, etc : https://universityhq.org/resources/by-major/
Create a college list of about 20 schools that are of interest to you, taking into account factors such as: size, location, quality of a particular academic or extracurricular program, type of students, faculty/student ratio, housing availability, guidance and support for students, overall cost, etc.
The final goal is to come up with a balanced group of nine schools (up to 6 CUNY’s, 4 SUNY’s, and private schools) that fall into three categories: Reach, Possible, and Likely.
- Reach school is one where your chances of admission are less likely, but where you have some chance of admission.
- Possible/Comfort school is one where your credentials for admission are truly competitive and you are qualified for admission.
- Likely/Safety school is one where your credentials are very competitive, and where we are confident that you will be admitted.
If you need help developing a college list, please visit: http://admissionsblog.siena.edu/how-to-build-an-air-tight-college-list
Types of Applications
Once a decision to apply to a school has been reached, you should begin listing your schools on Naviance under “Colleges I’m applying to” link. You MUST read each college's requirements and follow the instructions carefully. Pay close attention to the timetable for each application and comply with the deadlines given by the College Office. Four of the most prevalent schedules are: Regular Decision; Rolling Admission; Early Decision; Early Action (You must mark which of these you are applying as).
- Early Decision (ED)
- Early Action (EA)
May 1st. If you plan on applying EA, you must attend the Early Decision/ Action meeting in September of your senior year.
Filling out the Application
Read and follow the directions carefully. Do not assume that all schools have the same steps or requirements.
1. Organize and distribute all parts of the application. This includes your forms, and forms for teacher and counselor recommendations. Naviance will list icons that will indicate which schools allow you to send your application electronically, or require an envelope to mail your application and documents. If a school requires your application to be mailed, you must submit a legal sized envelope to the College Office in order to send out letters of recommendations and transcripts. You MUST also submit the green transcript request form to the College office for ALL the schools you are applying to.
2. Give yourself plenty of time. Filling out an application takes longer than
expected. Doing this in advance will reduce a lot of stress by the due dates!
3. Be neat and clear in your presentation. Information must be presented clearly and legibly and questions should be answered directly and honestly.
4. Provide as much information as possible within the structure of the application.
5. Do not worry if you must leave some spaces blank.
6. If you do submit extra pieces of information, you MUST write your name and college identification number, if available, on all materials.
8. Send official copies of your standardized tests to colleges
9. Save and make copies of all materials submitted.
10. Complete Transcript Request form for the College Office and update Naviance
11. Be sure to include any necessary payments and check to confirm receipt of your
application. Check on the status of your application three weeks after it has been sent.
The Common Application
- Over 400 colleges and universities support the use of the Common Application. The form can be obtained through Naviance, or from their website (www.commonapp.org). Check on Naviance to learn if your colleges accept the Common Application.
Coalition application.
Most schools that have the Coalition Application also accept the Common Application. In this case, we recommend that you use the Common Application, which you will use for most of your schools and will be less time spent on filling out an application.
However, some schools, such as the University of Maryland, decided to only use the Coalition Application. Students who are applying to such schools should follow the directions below in regards to Naviance. You will note that when you go to Naviance, you will see this icon next to University of Maryland. This icon represents docufide destinations that accepts documents electronically via Naviance. So, yes, we are still able to send out your transcript and recommendation through Naviance.
COALITION APPLICATION For Naviance
When students at schools using Naviance eDocs fill out the Coalition Application, they will check the box to indicate that they’ll be sending their transcript separately. These students will then request their documents be sent directly to the Coalition Application members using the same work flow and experience that they use for colleges in general.
Link to information about the Coalition Application:
Frequently Asked Questions about the Coalition Application: http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org
University HQ:
Information about various majors, financial aid, etc : https://universityhq.org/resources/by-major/
