College Application Process

The Common Application is an online application that students can use to apply to many colleges and universities using one application. This gives students the ability to be better organized and makes it easy to submit and track their college applications. The Common Application includes additional supplements required by individual colleges to complete their application. Read the details carefully. Go to www.commonapp.org to learn more.

The essay is a critical part of the college application. The essay conveys a sense of who you are separate from courses and grades, test scores, and other objective information. Applicants have only two opportunities to communicate their unique qualities, skills, experiences, interests, and character -- the personal interview and the personal essay.  In both, you speak in your own voice.   

Don't underestimate the persuasive power of the college essay.   A strong, genuine, sincere college essay can make a difference in the entire application process, and can tip the scales in your favor when acceptance committees decide who will be a good fit for their school.

During the 11th grade, students have the opportunity to write college essays in their English classes.  Students will work on several drafts of potential essays with the help of their teacher and classmates.  It is the goal of the English Department that students finish eleventh grade with a solid draft (or final copy) of at least one college essay, to begin the senior year and the college application process with an acceptable essay in hand.

Most 4 year colleges require 1 or 2 letters of recommendation from your teachers and/or school counselor. Check the application to determine what is required. The Secondary School Report, required by some colleges, should be given to your counselor to complete. Don’t wait for the last minute to ask your teacher and/or counselor to write a letter of recommendation for you; give them at least two weeks to write it. Complete the Request for Teacher Recommendation and Request for Counselor Recommendation forms (and make copies for your records) and make an appointment with your teacher or counselor to request the letter. Schedule a time to pick up the letter.

An official transcript must be sent by NFA to all schools to which you apply. Inform your counselor when you apply so the transcript can be sent to your school. When you send an application electronically, email your counselor right away with this information.

• If you are applying EARLY DECISION, give everything to your counselor two weeks before the deadline.
• Requests for applications due January 1^st must be received by the second Friday in December in order to process them before the winter recess.

College applications sometimes ask for a résumé to be sent with the application. You may feel that there is not enough space on the application to fully explain your experiences, so you may wish to send more details. This can be done in either a traditional résumé or in an activities summary. The activities summary is essentially a compilation of everything you have done outside the classroom throughout high school and should include the following five categories: community activities, school activities, sports, awards/honors, employment, and personal. It is a chance to highlight activities and accomplishments that might raise your admission profile. Use Family Connections/Naviance to build your résumé and check the Activities Summary and College Résumé section of the Career and Academic Reference Tool & Workbook for 11^th & 12^th Grade Students for examples.

Most colleges and universities now accept both SAT and ACT scores, giving you the option to choose which test to take for the best score possible. You should familiarize yourself with the differences between these two tests.

The SAT is used for admission by most US colleges and is often used to award scholarships and grants. The test is 3 hours and 45 minutes long and is comprised of 3 main areas: critical reading, math, and writing. The individual sections are scored on a scale of 200 – 800 with a maximum total score of 2400. The test has 10 sections. There is a penalty for incorrect answers.

The ACT is used by US colleges as an admissions requirement and to award scholarships. The test is approximately 3 hours long and is comprised of 4 areas: English, math, reading, and science. There is an additional half-hour if you choose to take the optional essay (although it is optional, many colleges require it). These sections are scored on a scale of 1 – 36 and are then divided by the number of sections taken to arrive at a composite score of 1 – 36. There is no penalty for incorrect answers.