As the class of 2024 begin their college applications, many question how the application process work.

“Students have to write an essay frequently and the essay is called the Common Application essay. Students have to often get a letter of recommendation from typically two teachers. Teachers should be from the student’s junior year, possibly from their senior year. Students also have to get a letter of recommendation from a counselor,” learning enrichment and gifted support teacher for upperclassmen, Jennifer Rand, explained.

Students are also expected to provide information about what activities they’ve participated in, whether it be a job, being a scout, or playing a sport, etc. Students will also need to provide a school transcript to whichever college they want to apply.

After all the seniors complete their transcripts, the next course of action is actually submitting the application. Colleges use different platforms for submissions, but the most frequent way is through Common Application, or Common App. 

“The Common App is an online application where students will apply to a variety of colleges. A majority of colleges in the United States have a profile on the Common App, so it’s a very easy way for students to apply to multiple colleges almost at once,” Rand said. 

Rand added that the Common Application serves as a place for students to put all of their activity information and any awards related to the application. Applications through Common App will also include any primary essay and secondary essays a student may have written. Seniors would also put any letters of recommendation into their profile on Common App as well. However, some colleges also use other platforms for submissions. Usually these are done through the college’s own site, these colleges include MIT, Georgetown, and schools in California. In order to effectively apply to a handful of colleges that use different platforms, seniors can use Xello — a platform that allows seniors to link all of their information to one area. Xello would also contain student transcripts and letters of recommendation. 

“We have decided to sort of streamline our work with students by having them go through Xello,” Rand stated. “Because it’s already a platform that we’re using and students already have some familiarity with it.” 

Once a senior has completed their application and decided what colleges they’re going to apply to, they must decide when to apply. The time of submission for the application heavily affects the student’s chances of getting in, and each time period for submission has its own requirements.

“There’s three different times you can apply, one is called early action. The early action deadline for Penn State, for instance, is Nov. 1, and we strongly recommend that students who are applying to Penn State use their early action deadline. It highly increases your likelihood of receiving a favorable decision,” Rand stated. 

Most seniors who are looking to go to Penn State would use this option because it increases their chances of getting into Penn State, but there are other options too. 

“There is an early decision, which is a binding decision. So if you apply to a school with an early decision, and you’re only allowed to apply to one school early, then if you’re accepted to that school then you’re required to attend” Rand stated. 

While this option is a more limiting decision, there is one last time period for submission. 

“Regular decision is the most common way to apply to a college and those application deadlines are typically in January,” Rand said. 

Many students will use the regular decision because it’s non-binding and gives them more time to look at schools.

High school can be a stressful time in teens’ lives in addition to all the pressure of applications. In order to decrease the stress a little, State High supports students by providing meeting times with students counselors in junior and senior year to discuss the college application process. There are also meetings that discuss the process for the whole junior and senior class.

As for freshmen looking to the future, there are somethings they can do in preparation for their applications.

“Focus on extracurriculars. They look better on college applications and make you stand out… essay writing is super important in college so taking English classes can help you get better at it and give you an easier time in college,” senior Krystal Nguyen advised.

The more information State High juniors and seniors have about the process, the better prepared they are for their college applications. If students would like more information about the process, they can contact Mrs. Rand or their counselor.