Application Absolutes

In the college application process there are a few absolutes.

If you don’t apply, you won’t be accepted.  Now is the time that seniors should be working on your college applications. If you haven’t started this process, please make this a priority and know that I am willing to help you. Good first steps would be to list out all of the colleges where you plan to apply, identify their application deadlines, determine their application requirements (for example, do they require essays or any recommendation letters) and then set your plan with deadlines to complete each step of your applications. There is an organization chart in the college application process section of the WKHS Counselor website that you can use to assist you in this process.

Every college will require a copy of your official transcript.  Colleges carefully evaluate the courses you have completed during your time at WKHS. In addition to considering the rigor of your course selection, they will also be looking at how you performed in those classes. As a result, providing the colleges with a copy of your transcript is an essential step of the application process.

In order to grant permission for your transcript to be released to a college you must complete the transcript release card. I have your transcript release card in my office and you will simply come in and sign the form indicating exactly which colleges you want to provide with your transcripts. If your application is on the Common App or to BGSU, we will then submit your transcript electronically and there is not a fee. For all of the rest of the transcripts, there is a $1.00 fee per transcript and you will be able to stop back in the counseling center 3 days after you completed the request to pay and pick up your transcript(s).

It is important that you do NOT open your transcript envelope because this is how colleges will know that your transcript is an official copy. Transcripts that are submitted in unsealed and unstamped envelopes will not be accepted by the colleges!

After receiving feedback from parents and students in the past, we have given the control over mailing the transcripts to you so that you will know exactly when it was mailed and be able to take ownership over your application process. A helpful hint, if you have multiple pieces all going to the same college (such as recommendation letters and transcript), send each of the individual signed and sealed envelopes together in a single larger envelope. This will help the colleges keep your application materials together and decreases the potential of application items being misfiled.

As we discussed at Senior College Night, one potentially confusing item is actually quite simple. Many colleges request that a form be submitted along with your transcript – these are usually called a college prep form or secondary school report. Each college has their own individual form that they will instruct you to print off and provide to us, but they all contain the same basic information. In order to simplify and streamline the application process, we have created a single secondary school report form that covers all of the information all of the colleges are requesting that is submitted with each of your transcripts. Since the form is the same for all of the schools you will not need to print off the individual copies of the forms from each school nor do you need to worry about trying to differentiate about which transcript goes to which school as each copy will be exactly the same.

If you have any questions about getting organized with your college application process or with the steps for submitting your transcript, please stop in and see me.