The college application process is a set of decisions, forms, deadlines, and reminders, not a single form that you fill out over the weekend. You’ll want a plan with timing, a college list with balance, the correct application systems, all your materials, and a method for following up on each portal. You should begin sooner than seems likely, since it will take time for essays, recommendations, transcripts, and discussions about cost to be completed while classes and extracurriculars and family life go on around you.
In This Article
- College Application Process Timeline And Deadlines
- How To Apply For College Without Missing A Step
- College Applications And The Platforms Students Use
- What Are The College Application Requirements?
- Should You Include A Student Resume?
- Application Fees And Fee Waivers
- Choosing Your School Before You Submit
- College Visits, Counselors, And Financial Aid Checks
- Apply For College: What It Covers And When To Use It
- Key takeaways
- Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
College Application Process Timeline And Deadlines
A helpful college application timeline will begin during your junior year when you start researching your potential colleges, visiting campuses (if possible), checking your course options and asking each college admission office what they require. During the summer before senior year, you should have a list of likely, target and reach schools, and have noted the submission windows.
There are typically three timing options: early, standard, and rolling. Deadlines differ by college, so you should check the deadlines for each college in their own admissions portals, rather than trusting your memory or a screenshot. These deadlines, as well as testing policy, FAFSA, and scholarship deadlines are all time sensitive information that is worth double checking with each college application cycle.
However, the best deadline is the one you can meet without stressing out over essays and recommendations.
Early Decision Deadlines
This option typically requires students to submit applications around November, and considers admission to be a binding decision. Only use this option if you have one school that is clearly your first choice and the cost is workable for your family. Within a college admissions process step by step guide, this would come after an affordability check because you will have less time to compare financial aid offers.
Early Action Deadlines
This early option can give you an earlier response, and usually leaves your decision nonbinding. Unlike early decision, you are not required to enroll if you are accepted. Some colleges will limit the number of early action applications you can submit, so be sure to read their policy before assuming they are all the same.
Regular Decision Deadlines
This is the regular deadline that most students will use. It usually features January deadlines and you will receive your decision in the spring. You will have more time to polish your essays, work on your grades, and compare offers. If early action felt rushed, this option could lead to stronger applications, since you will have more time to refine your list, gather recommendations and finalize materials.
How To Apply For College Without Missing A Step
Use regular decision as a back-up deadline while you complete all other items on your to-do list.
- Develop a well-rounded list of colleges based on academics, admission probability, location, cost, majors and campus culture.
- Set up a master list of deadlines, submission platforms, essay questions, recommendation letter requests, transcript requests, application fees and student portal logins.
- Collect your college application materials in advance, including the activity list, household information, counselor forms, essay drafts and test score records.
- Request recommendation letters politely and in plenty of time, providing the recommender with a resume, deadlines, intended majors and a few details that they can use.
- Draft the personal statement first, and then write supplemental essays that are tailored to each college that you apply to.
- Submit the application ahead of the deadline, save the confirmation number and check the student portal to make sure nothing is missing.
College Applications And The Platforms Students Use
You may submit to a shared platform, a school-specific portal, or an application service. The Coalition Application works with some participating colleges, which can be helpful if a school accepts it as well as other options. Other schools have their own application, especially if the program requires auditions or portfolios, or if an additional review by the department is needed.
This is where things get tricky. The platform is the platform; the requirements still belong to the individual colleges. One school may want two supplemental essays, another may require a supplemental essay specific to your major, and another may require no supplemental essay at all. It is best to set up accounts for the platform(s) early so you can review the actual requirements for each school.
Common App For First-Year Students
The Common App allows first-year students to enter one profile, activities list, family information, and main essay for many participating colleges. This can be the easiest option if most of your target schools accept the Common App. However, you still need to look at the supplement, recommendation, and financial aid requirements for each school individually. Just because the information is shared does not mean all schools require the same thing.
Coalition Application And Common Black College Application
Some students use a different shared platform because their schools participate in it, or because the group of schools is what they are looking for. For example, the Common Black College Application is for students looking to apply to participating historically Black colleges and universities. It is important to compare which schools participate in which platforms, what is required for each, what the deadlines are, and whether your counselor will be able to send materials for you through the platform you choose.
What Are The College Application Requirements?
Typically, you’ll need to provide your school information, your personal background, your grades, your activities, your essays, and your recommendations. However, each college application will have its own specific list of items, so don’t assume all applications are the same. Treat each college application as a separate entity.
Generally, you should expect to fill out:
- Personal & family information
- Grades & classes
- Short answers or an essay
- Activities
- Recommendations from teachers or counselor
- Test score (if required)
- Application fee or fee waiver
Here’s the piece that gets overlooked. All of these things will be considered together, not in isolation, to evaluate your readiness, decisions, background, and fit.
Personal Essay And Short Answers
Your college application essay should demonstrate good judgment, your personality, your self-awareness, and personal development. The subject doesn’t need to be tragic, award-winning, or extraordinary. It just has to be substantive. Common App essays can be used for broader personal statements, whereas individual college supplements should address why that college or program is right for you.
Transcript, Courses, And Test Scores
Your transcript demonstrates your performance, coursework difficulty, and academic trajectory over several years. One competitor mentions that grades are important for all four years, which is worth noting because seniors are sometimes complacent about their senior year grades. Test scores could be mandatory, optional, or not requested at all, depending on the college. Be sure to check the current test policy before you report scores or choose not to.
Activities, Community Service, And Recommendations
Activities give colleges a glimpse into what you’ve done outside of school: paid jobs, household duties, clubs, hobbies, sports, volunteer work, or personal endeavors. Community service is more important if it shows dedication rather than a random collection of hours. Recommendations add another view, particularly if a teacher can talk about your work ethic, intellect, perseverance, or participation in class.
Should You Include A Student Resume?
The purpose of a student resume is to capture important details that don’t fit in the space allowed for the application form. For example, if you have a leadership role, job, research project, performance, athletic team, family duty, honor, or scholarship you want to share with the reader but the application has only one small activity box, a resume can help you get your story out. Be sure that your resume is readable and easy to digest, and make sure that it clearly describes the impact you had by being involved in the activity.
However, there is a problem. A resume shouldn’t consist of the same ten activities just with longer sentences. In fact, if the best work is already captured in the application form, the addition of a resume might be unnecessary. If you plan on submitting one, check with the school to see whether they allow them and whether it would provide some additional context to the admissions committee.
Application Fees And Fee Waivers
When applying to multiple schools, fees can quickly add up. According to one competitive report, many application fees fall between $50 and $90, while others can be over $100. A college list of 8 schools can result in a substantial bill before considering additional costs for testing, travel, or transcripts.
Before eliminating a good-fit school due to cost, inquire about an application fee waiver. Some shared application platforms feature a waiver request, and your high school counselor can likely describe school-supported fee waivers. You can also check each college’s policy page as some institutions waive fees for campus visits, certain events, income eligibility, or specific application windows.
Choosing Your School Before You Submit
Having a solid school list saves you money and effort. Choose schools based on academic factors first, such as the majors available, the flexibility of courses, advising, graduation requirements, support services, and opportunities that connect to your goals. A prestigious name won’t matter if the major program isn’t set up to let you do the things you want to do.
What does that look like? Compare actual cost, after financial aid, not just sticker price. Then consider logistical fit, including how far it is from home, school size, housing, transportation, weather, religious or cultural affiliation, and student services. If you can’t come up with two concise, specific reasons a particular school should be in your list, don’t pay the application fee or write a supplementary essay.
College Visits, Counselors, And Financial Aid Checks
Make sure to use campus visits to verify your assumptions about a school. Ask about first-year advising, class enrollment, housing, campus safety, tutoring, career services, and typical weekend activities. If you are unable to visit, you can schedule virtual visits, explore department websites, watch student panels, and reach out to the admissions office with questions.
Your school counselor can provide guidance on how to request transcripts, submit recommendation letters, identify local scholarships, and organize your application timeline. The FAFSA is a key part of the cost of attendance analysis, and you may need to submit an institutional financial aid form if the school requires it. If you are thinking about a career in teaching, review the TEACH Grant requirements and service commitments because there are specific conditions that must be met to maintain eligibility for grant programs. Check the latest details as policies are subject to change.
Apply For College: What It Covers And When To Use It
You may take this phrase to refer to either: the process of trying out for college or the actual act of submitting an application. Consider it both ways. The first includes everything from researching colleges to creating a list, to writing your essays, to requesting recommendation letters, to confirming how much it will cost, to making sure all requirements are met. The latter is actually hitting send on the form, paying (or getting a waiver of) the application fee, and tracking the status online.
That’s worth taking a minute to note. Submitting is not the end of the road. A number of schools will not consider your file complete until they have received transcripts, recommendations, scores, counselor forms, etc. Once you’ve submitted, log into each school’s portal within a couple of days to review their status and make sure you haven’t missed anything before the clock starts ticking again.
Key takeaways
- Most students begin their application process in junior year and submit their applications during either the early or regular deadline.
- Early decision applications are binding, while early action applications typically allow students to see their offers of admission before making a decision.
- The Common App, Coalition Application, and other school-specific application portals may have different essay and application requirements.
- The minimum requirements for most schools include transcripts, essays, activities, and test scores (if submitted), as well as a recommendation from a counselor and/or teacher.
- Schools’ fee waiver policies, FAFSA availability, financial aid scholarships, and opportunities to visit campus should be included when students determine their final college list.
Frequently asked questions
What are the steps in applying for college?
First, we’ll build a balanced list of colleges. Next, we’ll verify the requirements. We’ll then create platform accounts and request documents from our high schools. After that, we’ll write our essays, request recommendation letters, submit our applications, and monitor portals for the rest of the cycle until all materials have been submitted. If you’re looking for how to apply for college simplified, this is it. The reason for following the steps in this order is that you need to keep the decisions, documents, and deadlines intertwined.
What are the 5 steps of the application process?
If you’re searching for when do you apply for college, most students will be submitting college applications in their senior year after doing much of the preparatory work in junior year. Keep in mind that it all depends on the college you’re applying to and when they’re due. The 5-step approach can be explained simply: research colleges, gather all necessary materials, complete your application, submit before the deadline, and monitor the portal for outstanding items.
When should my son start applying for college?
If you’re wondering about when to start applying for colleges, the short answer is: start early. One source I’ve seen says to have 4 to 6 months written before the deadline, which would mean you’d start drafting those essays in the summer before senior year. Your son should have his essays ready by the time he starts to submit his applications in senior year and should start compiling his college list by junior year.
What is the top 10 rule when applying for college?
The “top 10 rule” can be confusing because there are different things it could refer to. So you’ll need to figure out if someone is referring to a specific class rank requirement in your state. In other words, if you’re wondering “how to get into college,” it takes more than just being ranked in your top 10 to be accepted. There are other factors that play a role: courses taken, grade point average, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, context, etc. There might be a specific criterion that’s applied for certain programs, so you’d want to check on that as well.
How early can you apply to college?
Depending on the college, you might be able to submit an early application in the fall of your senior year, but that is up to the institution. If you’re asking when can you start applying for college, the best thing to do is create your account on the college’s website once their application opens. But don’t worry about filling out all of the information until you have everything you need. Be sure to double check the date in the portal itself!
Conclusion
The college application process can become more manageable by following a timeline. You’ll select schools on your balanced list, learn how each application is submitted, identify deadlines, determine if there are writing prompts, learn how to submit official transcripts, find out if test scores are required or optional, and learn how to apply for a fee waiver. You may also want to visit campuses, meet with your high school counselor, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), research TEACH Grants (if you’re interested in teaching), and search for scholarships to make sure your applications align with your academic aspirations and your family’s financial circumstances. Most likely, the information that will change throughout the college application process are the deadlines, testing policies, financial aid forms, fee waiver rules, and program requirements. Therefore, you should double check those details before submitting your application. By having your application materials organized and a clear plan for when and how to submit them, you can sidestep some common mistakes and apply to college with more confidence.
