Applying to College

Class of 2026 College Application Resources

Steps in Applying To College

Step 1. Research

Step 2. Create a Timeline of Deadlines

Step 3. Create Application Accounts

Each college has their own application for applying:
- Institutional (Directly on the college's website - EASIEST AND FASTEST!)
- Common App - Apply to up to 20 colleges at once.
- Coalition for College - Apply to 120 colleges on one app.
- Common Black College App - Apply to 50 HBCUs for $20
- University of California's Application - 9 California Campuses - 1 Application
- Apply Texas - Apply to any Texas Public University - 1 Application

Step 4. Prepare Application Materials & Request Documents

Every college requires different materials. Here is a list of the most common application requirements:

Admissions Application
Application Fee or Waiver
- Some college applications are free, some colleges cost up to $100. Make sure you to see if there is a fee before you apply!
- If you have free or reduced lunch, contact Ms. Hartfield for a waiver. This will either be approved through Common App or sent with your transcript.
Activities List or Resume
- Sometimes required for admissions or scholarships and sometimes not at all. Remember there is a tool in SchooLinks (Student > Profile & Resume) to create a resume or you can find various templates online. Check out College Essay Guy's resource.
Essay or Personal Statement
- Not always required! Sometimes colleges require multiple! Check out the Essay Writing resource.
Letters of Recommendations (Teachers, Counselors, or Other)
- Many colleges don't require any letters of recommendation so before you request them, make sure they are required. If a college requires them, they will require 1-3 and could be from teachers and/or counselors. Request these in SchooLinks.
High School Transcript
- Request in SchooLinks. You can find more information here about how to request and deadlines.
ACT / SAT Test Scores
- Request OFFICAL ACT Scores
- Request OFFICIAL SAT Scores
- OFFICIAL Scores must be requested by the student and sent through the testing agency above and there will be a fee to send. Sometimes colleges will accept them from the high school for free. If the college will accept the scores from the high school, please contact Ms. Hartfield and request them to be sent.
- Self-Report / Unofficial scores must be submitted by the student, whether it is through the admissions application or through the admissions portal after the student has submitted.

Step 5. Submit and Track Applications

Step 6. Apply for Financial Aid & Scholarships

Step 7. Receive Decisions and Make Final Choice

Colleges will have an enrollment decision date, this is typically on May 1. Sometimes there are benefits in deciding on a college earlier (early housing assignments), but most colleges will allow a student to wait until they have a financial aid package to make a decision on enrolling.

Once you do make a decision on where you are going, you will go through other processes such as submitting an enrollment deposit, signing up for orientation, taking test placement exams, and completing housing applications.

Colleges will ask for final transcripts, dual credit transcripts, AP exam scores, and immunization records (if staying on campus).

College Admissions Types and Deadlines

All colleges have their own deadlines, so it is important that you check their website. Some will have a combination of the below types or some will only have one deadline. It has many benefits to apply early!

Rolling

Priority Deadlines

Early Action (EA)

Early Decision (ED)

Binding agreement to attend if admitted. Only one ED allowed; you must withdraw other applications. Decisions made from the ED pool. Financial aid not guaranteed before committing. Some schools also offer ED II (Jan). You will be required to have a parent and counselor sign off that you understand what you are committing to before you apply ED.
Examples: WashU (Nov 1/Jan 4), Vanderbilt (Nov 1/Jan 1), Duke (Nov 1), Tulane (Nov 1)

TIP: Every college legally has to have a net price calculator. We suggest completing that net price calculator before submitting an ED application.

Regular Decision

Filling out the Common App

The Common App is an online college application platform used by over 1,100 colleges and universities. Seniors can apply to multiple colleges with a single application. If a college has the option of an institutional application or the Common App, the college does not care which option you choose. If you are applying to very few colleges, it may be easier to apply directly to the college.

Common App Tutorial Video

Parkway North Common App FAQs

Creating an Account

Make an account: https://apply.commonapp.org/createaccount
Use a PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL email address. This is the email addresses colleges will use to contact you.
You are a FIRST YEAR STUDENT (Even if you have dual enrollment / dual credit classes.)

Profile

Fill out your contact and demographic information correctly.
Common App Fee Waiver - This is where you can request a fee waiver if there is a financial obstacle for your family. Read through the options and if any of them pertain to you let Ms. Hartfield know that you requested a fee waiver.

Family

You may need your family to assist you in this section. Remember not every question is required.
Under parent occupation, if you cannot find it there is an OTHER option.
If you list that your parent went to college, you will be required to put in what college they attended.

Education

Enter every high school you have attended.
If you have been at Parkway North all 4 years, you will enter date of entry as August 2022
If you took dual credit / dual enrollment courses you will fill out the Colleges section and select Dual Enrollment with High School and Credit Awarded Directly by College. Put the date that you started the course(s) and the date that you will end. Leave degree blank. You do not need to send dual credit transcripts to college until May.
Class of 2026 is a graduating class size of 275.
We do not rank.
We are on a 4.0 GPA scale (even if you took honors classes). Put your highest GPA and put that it is weighted.
List all classes on your schedule for this school year (even 2nd semester).
Honors: There are only 5 slots. Put an award that you have received. We do not keep track of awards at North. Some honors that some students will list: AP Scholar, National Merit, department or academic honors, etc. Don't repeat what you will put in your activities section. These should be in order of importance to you. See below activities list resource, there are some suggestions about the honors section at the end of the article.

Testing

We do not put test scores on transcripts and it is up to you if you want to self-report your test scores. If a college requires official ACT scores, you have to have them sent from ACT to the college. Official AP scores do not need to be shared until you know where you are heading in May.
Report all tests that you are PROUD of: ACT, AP, SAT. You do NOT have to report scores you are not proud of. Check the college's websites to see what scores they are looking for before you add your scores.
You will be required to add the date that you took the exam that you are entering. An estimate is fine.

Activities

There are 10 slots for activities. Make sure they are in order of importance to you. Be as specific as possible. Colleges like any sort of data that you can give them.
NEW: Responsibilities section! Be honest in this category. It shows colleges what personal circumstances you have going on in your life.
Take a look at College Essay Guy's Activities Resource.

Writing

BEFORE you spend time writing the essay, make sure it is required. If you have added colleges to your Common App already, check to see if it is required. If it is not, then do not worry about writing it.
Write your essay in Google Docs (to catch for grammar and spelling) before copying and pasting. It has to be between 250-650 words.
Find resources at Essay Writing.

Courses & Grades

Only complete this if it is required.
You will type out every grade you have received for high school credit.
Middle school grades that you received high school credit for and summer school grades go under OTHER.
Grading Scale is A-F
Schedule is Semesters.
You do NOT have to put a FINAL grade, you can just put the grade for semester 1 or semester 2. Each semester should be listed as a .5 credit.

YOU ARE NOT FINISHED!

Make sure that you then click on My Colleges and answer the college specific questions. Sometimes this includes supplemental essays required by the college that is different from the Common App Essay.

TIP: To prioritize applications, click on My Colleges and Add your term or admissions plan. This will allow you to add a deadline for your application so that you can stay on track.

REQUESTING TRANSCRIPTS & LETTERS OF REC WITH COMMON APP

You must link your Common App to SchooLinks to request transcripts and letters of recommendation. More information can be found HERE.

VIDEO TO LINK COMMON APP AND SCHOOLINKS

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