College Application Procedures - Using Naviance and Common Application
Please read the important information in this document carefully!
Generally, when you apply to a four-year college, you will submit the Common Application. The Common Application is one application that can be submitted to multiple colleges. If using the Common Application, you must complete the application on the “Common App” top tab, and then submit it to each college using the colleges listed in your “My Colleges” tab. Please note that each college may have different questions and requirements for applying that you will find under the specific college that you have added to your “My Colleges” list. It is important that you complete the applications fully and proofread your application before submitting it.
In addition to submitting your college application, you must submit an official transcript and letters of recommendation to your colleges. This is where Naviance comes into play. The Common App is how you apply to most colleges, and Naviance is how your school counselor submits your transcript and school counselor recommendation, and your teachers submit their recommendations to colleges. Please follow the steps below to match your Common Application to Naviance and request letters of recommendation so that these important steps can happen.
To match your Naviance and Common App accounts:
Step One: Create a Common App Account at www.common app.org. Be sure to use your personal email address!
Step Two: Under the Common App top tab, complete the 'Current or Most Recent School lookup' question on the Education section of the Common App
Step Three: Add a college to your Common Application by using the “College Search” tab
Step Four: Under the My Colleges tab, Click on one college and complete the “Recommenders and FERPA” questions.
Step Five: Log on to Naviance using the Google waffle on your chromebook. Under the “Colleges” and “Colleges I’m applying to” tab, you will see a pink/red bar across the top - this is the matching tool. Click Match Accounts. Add your email address and password that you used for the Common Application and click the sign in button. Click I Agree and then the Connect button.
Step Six: Click the pencil / edit icon under each college added and complete the questions.
Remember you must go back to the Common Application and complete the application and submit it to all of your colleges. The Education section requires some information from the high school. Click here for help responding to those questions.
If you choose not to use Common Application (HVCC, SCCC, College’s own application):
You must manually add any college that is not on the Common Application to “Colleges I’m applying to” on Naviance. Click the pink + button to add colleges. Click the pencil icon under each college added and complete the questions.
Letters of Recommendation:
Under the Colleges top tab on Naviance, click on “applying to college” and then “letters of recommendation” and “add request” to invite your teacher recommenders to submit letters for you. You should do this after you have asked teachers in person, typically at least three weeks before your deadline. If you are applying to a 4 year school through the Common Application, you do not have to request a counselor letter of recommendation. Your counselor will automatically send a recommendation as part of the process. Do not forget to let teachers know if you need additional letters of recommendation if you apply to more schools later on!
Important Notes:
Let your counselor and teachers know 3 weeks before your application due date that you’ve added your colleges to Naviance and that you need a transcript/counselor/teacher letter of recommendation sent.
Submit each Common Application / college application when you are finished with them. Do not wait for your teachers/counselor to submit letters, etc. It is very important that your application arrives at the college by the deadline.
Also: Do not forget to submit your SAT / ACT scores to each college through collegeboard.org or act.org if you choose to do so. This should be done a couple of weeks before your college deadlines.
Be sure to READ all Admissions and Financial Aid pages at each college to which you are applying. You do not want to miss specific information / additional info needed / dates / deadlines, etc.
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