College application season is fast approaching. Throughout the last few weeks, seniors have been meeting with counselors, namely college and career counselor, Dr. Creel, during their English classes. These presentations have covered a variety of topics such as recommendation letters, transcripts, and crafting a college list. Below are some key tips that every senior applying to college should be aware of: 

Recommendation Letters: 

Students applying to a public school in Texas do not need to submit a rec letter. However, if you are applying to a university that requires one, you must complete a brag sheet prior to meeting with your counselor or teacher. You must request these letters at least one month prior to your application deadline. All directions regarding this process through Naviance can be found on the Class of 2022 Canvas page. 

Transcripts: 

All students must submit a high school transcript when they are applying to college. Dr. Creel explained that these documents take at least five days to send to the universities. In order to request these forms, students must log onto Naviance and then follow the instructions provided on the Class of 2022 Canvas page. Also, once students complete their request form, they will be able to view on Naviance if the document has been received by their university. 

Crafting a List: 

Since it’s only August, seniors have some time left to adjust their college list. The counselors explained how it is important to have an equal balance between likely, target, and reach schools. Likely schools are colleges that seniors know for sure that they will get automatically admitted to or have over a 50% chance of getting accepted. Target schools are colleges where students are in the 50% percentile of admitted students. Finally, reach schools are those that students have a less than 50% chance of getting accepted. It was emphasized that every student’s extracurriculars, grades, and test scores are different so therefore, everyone’s list will look unique. For those who are looking to add some more options to their list, CP will be hosting multiple virtual visit opportunities in September and October. These dates can be found on Naviance. 

If you have any questions regarding college admissions, please contact Dr. Creel at [email protected] or visit the College & Career Center in Room 1619.