Are You Ready to Apply?
There is no rush to submit applications to colleges in mid-August. However, I understand that some who live in states where school is beginning as early as tomorrow would like to get this off their plates. You may also be eager to submit even if school doesn’t start for weeks!
When are you ready?
Do you have colleges that require the SRAR (Self Reported Academic Record)?
You’ll need a copy of your high school transcript showing every course you have taken in grades 9-11 with all grades and credits earned to complete this. For grade 12, the courses and credits are required, with “IP” added for “in progress” because there are no grades. You may add test scores if you choose to submit them. Make sure everything is completed correctly and submit SRAR before you apply to colleges.
Do you have colleges that require grades added to the Common Application? When on your Common Application, click the “Common App” tab to check. Underneath the list on the left (Profile, Family, Education, Testing, Activities, and Writing), you will see “Courses and Grades” with the number of schools that require your 9-11 grade courses, grades and credits. Complete as above. There is no need to add grade 12 courses because they are listed in the Education section and you have no grades.
SRAR and adding grades to your Common App are straightforward tasks with a few nuances:
If you took high school courses such as Algebra 1 or the first year of your high school level language in middle school, SRAR has a middle school section for adding these. The Common Application has an “Other Courses” tab below the grade levels. Add middle school courses here. If you took the first year of a language again in 9th grade, do not add to middle school.
Naviance: Does your school use Naviance and do you have access to it? If yes, match your Naviance account with your Common Application. See the video below:
Make sure your deadlines are correct in Naviance before requesting letters of recommendations and transcripts, especially if you are applying to colleges with EA, ED, and rolling deadlines.
Scoir: Check with your school counselor to see if you will be applying directly through Scoir or through the Common Application. Always follow your school counselor’s directions.
