Listed below are the steps we encourage students to follow so that the college application process may be facilitated. Please feel free to contact Mr. Hanner with specific questions you may have.

APPLYING TO SCHOOLS

• Contact the Undergraduate Office of Admission at the college of your choice to get the application.
• Complete the application and write a check to cover the application fee. Be sure to put your name (the applicant’s name) and your Social Security Number on the check.
• Any questions bring the application forms with attached checks to your guidance counselor for review, or to offer suggestions.
• At the college a personal file with your name on it is created. As your applications, transcripts, and letters of recommendation are received, they are placed in the file. When your file is complete, it will be reviewed by an admissions counselor.

It is suggested that a student apply to:

• Approximately two schools for which you meet admissions criteria easily.
• Approximately two schools for which you have a 50/50 chance of acceptance.
• One or two schools for which you have a chance, but may fall short on some of the admissions
  criteria.
  

TYPES OF APPLICATIONS

1. Early Decision

a.) Early application deadline.
b.) Early admissions decision.
c.) Student is committed to the college.

2. Early Action

a.) Early application deadline.
b.) Early admissions decision.
c.) Student is not committed to the college.

3. Regular Admissions

a.) Application deadline

4. Rolling Admissions

a.) Admissions decisions for qualified students are made on a first come, first serve basis.
b.) Usually students will be notified by the colleges within four to six weeks after application file is complete.

LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

1. Counselor Recommendations

a.) Complete Personal Profile obtained from you counselor. This will enable the staff to write enhanced characterizations, which is something colleges seek.
b.) Review profile with your counselor, if requested.

2. Teacher Recommendations

a.) Ask a teacher if he/she would write a recommendation for you.
b.) Bring teacher a stamped envelope addressed to the college. The teacher will mail the recommendation directly to the college. Ask the same one or two faculty members to send a recommendation to all schools for which you are seeking admission. It is not recommended that a different teacher send a recommendation to each college.
c.) Be sure to give teachers two weeks or so for completion, and remember to thank them.

3. Letters from employers or other community people are usually sent along with your application.

ONCE COLLEGE APPLICATIONS LEAVE WOODLAWN HIGH SCHOOL...

Often, families ask about the types if follow-through procedures which occur when applications leave our high school to be processed by colleges.

Please Note:
Colleges typically re-calculate one’s GPA, without the weights high schools assign, using core academic courses only.

A delay in the forwarding of recommendations and other documents submitted separately may hold up the processing of one’s application.

"WHAT HAPPENS TO MY ENVELOPE?"

You’ve spent months creating the perfect college application. You received your rough drafts, and you made copies of your final draft. The envelop is on your kitchen counter ready to be mailed. What really happens to it once it reaches the college admissions office?

Your envelope will first be delivered to our mailroom where it will be greeted with a date stamp. In an effort to be fair to our hard-working applicants, we process all of our mail in the order in which it arrives. Each part of you application will then be entered into our computer system along with the date on which it was received. Once we have this computer record of your application, we will place it in a file folder and send it through the review process. Keep in mind that your folder will remain in a holding pattern near the mailroom until all of you application materials are received! Once your application is complete, we will notify you by letter.

The review process will begin with a close look at your high school transcript. First we will count your academic units, excluding courses like heath, P.E., etc. Next we will re-calculate your grade point average. Once this is complete, the reading begins. Your application will be reviewed by the admissions committee for the school to which you have applied. This committee consists of both admissions officers and faculty members. If there is a question about your school or your curriculum, an admissions officer may call your counselor to get clarification before a decision is made. The committee may also wait for your senior grades or additional testing reports. Your senior courses and grades are important factors in the decision-making process, so don’t let senioritis stand in your way!

Around the end of March (or mid-December for Early Decision) admission decisions are finalized and letters are printed. Then it is our turn to send your letter on its way!

The Application Process: A Guide for Parents

When your son or daughter applies to college, each college admission office collects a folder of information about him or her that will be used when makingthe admission decision. Parents should be aware of what information goes into this all-important folder.

Application and Essay
The application includes simple biographical information such as birth date and family background. Frequently, students are asked to write essays toacquaint the admission committee with the applicant's experiences, strengths, knowledge of grammar and spelling, and ability to think and write. It is through the essay that your son or daughter will have the opportunity to present himself or herself in the best possible light.

Academic Record
The most important item in your student's admission folder is his or her high school academic record. In fact, many consider it the best indicator of your student's later college success. Your son's or daughter's program of study, specific courses, and grades received are what admission officers will consider inappraising his or her transcript. Colleges pay special attention to challenging courses that are successfully completed. (Your son or daughter should review the entrance requirements of the schools in which he or she is most interested.)

In many high schools, each student's record is compared with that of his or her classmates and he or she is assigned a class ranking relative to the others in the class. Class rank is an important means of showing admission officers the level of competition encountered and your child's achievement relative to the competition. Not all high schools compute class rank, so don't worry if yours is a school that does not rank its students.

College Entrance Exams
Colleges requiring the SAT I, ACT, or SAT II(s) use the scores in several different ways. First, a college may use the scores to predict your student's college success. Second, colleges may use scores to compare students from similar backgrounds and schools. Finally, colleges may use test scores to help place your son or daughter in appropriate courses. Pay particular attention to which test scores are required by each school to which your son or daughter applies.

Recommendations
Recommendations from teachers, guidance counselors, and others represent a very important part of your son's or daughter's admission folder. They tell about the student's classroom experiences in ways not represented by grades.

Teachers may comment on your son's or daughter's contributions to the class and the quality of his or her written and oral work.

Counselors can highlight strengths not otherwise included in the official application and can comment on your son's or daughter's potential for studying at a particular college.

Recommendations allow the writers to go beyond information requested in the general application to describe your child's individual qualities and characteristics.

Student Activities and Employment

Your son's or daughter's record of involvement in activities (curricular, extracurricular, and outside of school) can be a significant supporting credential. Out-of-school activities such as work, scouting, religious groups, and community volunteer work play an important role in who your son or daughter is.

Membership is not the important factor; rather, his or her level of involvement commitment, and accomplishment is important. It is better for your child to be involved in one activity and make a significant contribution than to be involved superficially in a number of organizations.

Make the Application Work
The single most important step in completing college admission applications is also the simplest-take time to read the instructions before filling out the forms. For your son or daughter, the application is like a final test. While it's true that the greatest emphasis will be placed on courses, grades, and, in some cases, test scores, colleges want to know about him or her as a person.

The application, essay, and interview (if available) are opportunities for your son or daughter to profile himself or herself. If your son or daughter has any questions about how he or she compares to other applicants at a particular school, consult the high school counselor and the college admission officer.

The Results
When your child's application has been reviewed by a college or university, a number of possible responses can come back. They are:

Admit
Deny
Conditional Admit
Wait List

If you are unclear about the meaning of anything in your son's or daughter's application response letter, call the admission office of the college for clarification.

Once your son or daughter accepts an offer of admission from a particular college, it is time to decline all other offers of admission. This makes it possiblefor colleges to extend offers to students who may be on the Wait List. A student should never indicate an intention to enroll at more than one college.

If a student has difficulty choosing among the schools to which he or she has been admitted, a campus visit is always encouraged. If you haven't already visited a college or university during the application process, it is important to do so before making the final choice. Only a campus visit can give you firsthand knowledge of a school and a feel for how your son or daughter will fit in.