At this time
of year, seniors are feverishly working to finalize the personal elements of
their college applications, namely the essays, resume and personal application
questions. This of course can generate a lot of anxiety for students and
parents as they try to be sure all I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.
It should help to know that there are
different pieces of each application that are managed separately from each
other, and some are not even the responsibility of the student to manage!
Take a look
at this representation that shows a typical college application. There are generally three separate blocks of
information that come together to build the complete application.
Please ask
if you have any questions about this process.
Block 1: The Application
GENERATED AND
SUBMITTED BY THE STUDENT PRIOR TO THE STATED COLLEGE DEADLINE
-Includes the actual questions and demographic / high school information
filled out by the student and submitted directly by the student to the college
-Includes the student-generated essay(s), resume and short
answers
-Examples include the Common Application, Common
Application Supplements, Coalition Application, Individual School Application
(i.e. FSU, MIT, Georgetown, FAU)
+
Block 2: The Test Scores
SUBMITTED BY THE STUDENT
PRIOR TO THE STATED COLLEGE DEADLINE
(May be submitted
before or after Block 1)
-The SAT and/or ACT scores earned by the student must be
sent DIRECTLY TO THE COLLEGES FROM THE TESTING AGENCY
-Students must sign in to their College Board and/or ACT
account to order and pay for the scores to be sent to each college
-Scores must be sent by the student – the high school CANNOT
send test scores to colleges
+
Block 3: The School Materials
GENERATED AND
SUBMITTED BY THE HIGH SCHOOL PRIOR TO THE STATED COLLEGE DEADLINE
SUBMITTED ONLY AFTER
THE STUDENT HAS SUBMITTED BLOCKS 1 & 2 TO
THE COLLEGE(S)
-These materials include the high school profile, official
transcript, letters of recommendation from teachers, counselor report form and
counselor recommendation letter
-While the student must follow the process to request
letters of recommendation from teachers, approve the transcript and fill out
the necessary forms for the college counselor, submission of the school
materials to the college(s) is the responsibility of the college counselor
=
Complete Application
All 3 Blocks Submitted to the College(s)
