Guide to Senior Year

We are hoping this newsletter provides you guidance on what you can do over the summer to be ready for your Post High School Planning when you enter Senior Year this fall!

Topics Included:

• College Application Process and Timeline
• College Application Resources and Deadlines
• Naviance
• Student & Parent Surveys
• SAT's & ACT's
• College Application & Financial Aid Night Save the Dates

As always, please don't hesitate to reach out to your student's School Counselor with any questions!

The IHS Counseling Team

Students applying to 4-year colleges should be working through the checklist below:

• Complete college research and visits now through October
• Update résumé in Naviance by end of September
• Meet with School Counselor for individual planning meeting
• Calendar invites will be sent via Outlook to each student's school email/calendar account at the beginning of September
• These meetings will run from the end of September through October
• If you wish to meet with your Counselor prior to the scheduled meeting, stop by the Counseling Center to make an appointment!
• Review Information and Resources in the Class of 2027 Schoology Folder
• Complete College Testing (SAT/ACT)
• October and November test dates will be available
• Request letters of recommendation from teachers
• Students should make this request to their teacher in person first
• Follow up with the request through Naviance
• Complete Senior Fall Survey (click QR code/link below) - STAY TUNED for this!!!
• Create College Application Accounts
• Common App most commonly used - link below
• Match Common App and Naviance Account
• Submit applications by (or before) the deadlines
• Be mindful of individual school deadlines!
• Goal of all applications complete by Thanksgiving break even if deadline is later
• Submit blue Transcript Request Forms
• One form required for EACH individual school
• Ideally application is submitted prior to Transcript Request Form, however be mindful of approaching deadlines to allow the twelve (12) school days to process

• Apply for Financial Aid
• Stay in contact with schools you applied to

Please make sure to stay in contact with your student's School Counselor with any questions as we work through this process!

This guide provides an overview of the college planning and application process! Please see the Guide from last school year which will be updated ASAP!

Common App is the online application program utilized for most 4-year college applications. There are some colleges or universities that will have their own online application available on their individual website. For those looking to get a jump start on the application process, you can create your Common App account and begin completing the application.

When creating your account, please be sure to select that you're looking to start school in the Fall of 2026 so that you are completing the correct application. Once your account is created, you can begin adding schools you are interested in applying to under the "Colleges Tab" or work on the application under the "Common App" tab.

Seniors will all be assigned a college essay in their English course regardless of which English class they are choosing to take. If you would like to begin working on the Common App essay prior to this assignment, below is a screen shot of the prompts you will be provided:

Early Decision vs. Early Action or Regular Deadline: What should I pick?

Each college/university has invidiual admission deadlines. Here is some information to choose which deadline makes the most sense for you!

Early Decision: This is an earlier admission deadline and is a BINDING CONTRACT. Students applying to a school as an Early Decision student are committing to attend this school if accepted. Once accepted, student will need to withdraw all other college applications. Student can only apply to one school Early Decision.

Early Action: This is an earlier admission deadline which allows students to have the process completed and decision sent to them earlier. This is not binding and students can apply to as many colleges as they want with an Early Action status.

Regular Decision: This is the traditional deadline a school will offer.

Rolling Admission/Deadline: This admission deadline does not have a set date, applicaitons are accepted and reviewed as they come in on a rolling basis. We strongly encourage students to complete their applications in the fall, even if the school they are applying to has a rolling deadline.

Common Early Decision/Early Action Deadlines:

October 15

November 1

November 15

December 1

Please be aware that each college may have different options available and different deadline dates!

Naviance is our college and career exploration program. Students are exposed to Naviance each year to work on different components of the post high school planning process. Students will use Naviance in Senior year for the application process including requesting letters of recommendations from teachers and keeping their list of schools applying to.

Some features to note:

• Résumé Builder - make sure the résumé is up to date by the end of October!
• Teachers and School Counselors will utilize the résumé to support recommendation letter writing
• Career Exploration
• College Search Options
• "Favoriting" a school (clicking the ❤️) adds it to the "Colleges I'm Thinking About List" which identifies students to notify for college rep visits
• Tracking Colleges/Universities of Interest

TO ACCESS NAVIANCE:

On student laptop - Launch Google Chrome Browser

Click "Clever" App

Click "Log in with Microsoft"

Click "Naviance" App

Explore!

Please fill out the survey using this link. This information is used for School Counselor recommendation letters as well as the Scholarship Committee.

Now is the time to "BRAG" about your student! Please use this link to complete our Parent Brag Sheet - this helps counselors with letters of recommendation as well as provides information that could pertain to scholarship opportunities!

Please note IHS is not a Test Center for the August or September SAT, but students can select to take the exam at other Testing Centers! Click on the picture below to register!

Please note, IHS is not currently a test site for these exams but students can select to take the exam at other Testing Centers!