November/December Action Items & Important Info Contact your counselor after reviewing below with any questions. STUDENT ACTION ITEMS - Submit your final college list by Dec. 1 by 9 am following these instructions.
- Continue working on applications:
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By Nov. 10: Request feedback on essays with Nov. 30/Dec. 1 deadlines (e.g., UC responses) (unless you've received an extension or have an upcoming meeting with your counselor).
- During Thanksgiving break: Work ahead on all applications. Don’t wait to receive decisions from early schools before beginning regular decision applications! We suggest you have drafts of all application essays by the time you receive decisions from early schools.
- By Dec. 8: Request feedback on essays with Jan. 10 or sooner deadlines (unless you've received an extension or have an upcoming meeting with your counselor).
- Use these guidelines. Your essay must include the prompt and word limit. Review your essay for grammar, spelling, and proper formatting.
- Review the UC Tip Sheet (if applicable) on the Resources page before asking your counselor questions. The UC deadline is Dec 1.
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Move colleges to “Applied” in SCOIR after submitting the applications.
- Read all application instructions thoroughly. It is your responsibility to know the application procedures and policies (including deadlines, interview policies, testing requirements) of all your schools.
- Pay attention to housing application deadlines, especially at public universities. For instance, UT Austin’s housing application instructions here.
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Send your ACT and/or SAT scores to colleges that require official reports (for each college, check their official admissions webpage to identify whether they accept self-reported or require official scores). There is no need to wait to submit scores if your testing is complete; scores can arrive before your application.
- Read colleges’ financial aid instructions (if applicable). Compile a list of deadlines and their required forms, and discuss with your parent(s)/guardian(s) when they will be completed.
PARENT/GUARDIAN ACTION ITEMS -
Read colleges’ financial aid instructions (if applicable). For Early Decision and Early Action, most financial aid deadlines match admissions deadlines. Follow each college’s instructions carefully.
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Review the College Counseling Policies & Expectations, shared with students earlier this year. Remind your student of the following:
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Within one week of notification, students are required to share admissions decisions with the college counseling office for every institution they added to their lists in SCOIR.
- For students who applied Early Decision (ED): Within one week of being admitted under an ED plan (and receiving an acceptable financial aid package, if applicable), students are required to withdraw applications to other institutions.
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For students who applied Restrictive Early Action (REA): Within one week of receiving an admissions offer from an REA school (and an acceptable financial aid package, if applicable), the student is required to withdraw all other applications to private institutions, with the exception of one.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Application Status Questions: Review the Oct. 24 email here or on the Resources Page for concerns about missing application documents.
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Important Essay-Writing Strategy: Start with your foundation and reach schools and leave your unlikelies for last. It is critical that you submit strong applications to your foundation and reach schools; otherwise, they won’t be foundation and reach schools.
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Interviews: Review the counselors’ interview tips on the Resources page. Speak with your counselor afterward if you have questions.
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University of Washington: Use our office’s application guide here.
- You’re required to respond to a prompt that sounds remarkably similar to the Common App essay. Paste your Common App essay into this field. UW does not download the main Common App essay.
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When you are ready to submit to UW, enter your GPA into the Education section. This will avoid your receiving requests for additional documentation from UW.
- For “Cumulative GPA,” use the GPA listed under your “My Profile” in SCOIR.
- For “GPA Scale Reporting,” select “4”.
- For “GPA weighting,” select “unweighted”.
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After submitting to UW, remember to remove your GPA! Our office’s UW guide provides instructions on how to do this, if needed.
- You do not need to upload your unofficial transcript to the UW application.
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If you’re applying for direct admission to Computer Science (CS), Engineering, or Business, simply list it as your first choice major in the application. These programs are highly competitive, so you should also list a second choice major. This will enable you to still be admitted to UW, even if you’re not selected for the direct admit program (note: you should not list CS, engineering, or business as second choice majors. Though the application will technically allow you to do so, UW will not consider your second choice major if you list one of these options.)
- To request essay feedback from your college counselor:
- Remember that Senior Year Matters.
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If you’re applying early anywhere, colleges often request first-quarter grades from our office. If those grades are requested – and there is no way to know who will ask for them – they are important. The college office will submit required first-quarter grades by Thanksgiving break; disregard any reminders from colleges before then.
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In Regular Decision, first semester grades are important. In June, your final grades are reviewed by the college at which you enroll - if there is a drop in grades, you risk losing your space.
- Most importantly, the skills you build this year will make you better prepared for college. Every year, alumni who suffered from “senioritis” say they wish they had remained focused because they would have had a stronger foundation for their college studies.
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Merit Scholarships: Sign-up for a free Going Merry account to begin searching for scholarships. While there are many other scholarship sites (Visit the Resources Page FAQs for more), Going Merry allows students to sort by deadline, and is simple and user-friendly.
UPCOMING DATES AND DEADLINES November 10: last day to request essay feedback for colleges with Nov. 30/Dec. 1 deadlines November 15: UW & early deadline for some colleges
November 24-28: Thanksgiving break - great opportunity to work on apps! College counselors will not be available via email. December 1: Final college lists due; UC & Cal State deadline; Priority scholarship deadline for some colleges, including Boston University (Trustee Scholars), Claremont McKenna, and Vanderbilt.
December 8: Last day to request essay feedback for colleges with deadlines of January 10 or sooner. December 10-20: Notification dates for most early applications December 19: College office closes at 3:15pm for winter break; counselors will have limited email access
January 5: Last day to request essay feedback for colleges with a January 15 deadline. January 1-15: Regular decision deadlines for most colleges January 5: College counseling office reopens |
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