College Applications
Applying to colleges can be a nerve-wracking process for most seniors. It is a multi-step process that can determine the next few years of a Senior's life. We break down that process to guarantee they don't miss a beat. State Universities have become extremely competitive and have raised their requirements for admissions. Below you will find what is labeled as the SUS Matrix. This allows families to get an idea of what each public state university is looking for. On the matrix, you will find what is each school's average requirement for admissions based on GPA, SAT scores, and ACT scores. Admissions requirements are slightly lower when applying for summer semester.
Initially, when building the list of schools they'd like to apply to, they'd categorize them into three classifications:
REACH SCHOOL:
If getting in and paying for college weren't issues, where would they want to attend? A dream school is a college where their academic credentials fall in the lower end, or even below, the school's average range for the cohort of students accepted the previous year. Dream schools might be long shots, but they should still be possible. Don't let the sticker price of a financial reach school scare you off! Financial need, academic strength, and a college's desire to have you on campus can all influence the financial aid award and make the cost of attendance more manageable.
TARGET SCHOOL:
A target school is one where their academic credentials (grades , SAT or ACT scores, and class rank) fall well within the school's average range for the most recently accepted class. There are no guarantees, but it's not unreasonable to expect to be accepted to several of their target schools.
SAFETY SCHOOL:
A safety school is one where their academic credentials exceed the school's range for the average first-year student. They should be reasonably certain that they will be admitted to their safety schools. Like their dream and target schools, these should also be colleges they'd be happy to attend. In addition to admissions criteria, it's a good idea to think about financial aid when creating your list of safety schools—make sure there is at least one school that they know their family can afford on that list.
The Scoir Platform will assist in creating your College lists and then help keep track of all the colleges they will apply to. Scoir keeps a running list of all the tasks that a successful college application is comprised of. They will request transcripts, recommendation letters, and send test scores through the platform.
Recommendation letters should be requested two school weeks (10 days) before submission deadline to give recommender time to complete. They can use the Brag Sheet below to display all their academic achievements over their high school career and provide recommenders with further background information.