Because many colleges now use the common application, you may find you need only write one application to most of the private schools on your list. However, you may write multiple supplements and essays to various colleges. You must be aware of the requirements and deadlines for each college.
Read all application instructions carefully. If you are completing a Common Application, make sure you know what supplements are required. This information is accessed through common application website. A note about the Common Application:
Some schools will offer alternatives to the common application, while others have adopted it as their sole application. Some people believe that using the common application can hurt your chances for admissions when those alternatives are available. This is not the case, since each member school of the Common Application has signed a pledge that they will not discriminate against students who choose to use it. Recently, marketing firms have started representing colleges by sending out mass emails to students with applications that are titled as “VIP”,
“Priority”, “Fast App”, etc. These are marketing tools only and will complicate the process for you and for us. Please trust us when we ask that you use only the Common Application at a Common App school. For more information about this, speak with your counselor.
At Bishop O’Dowd, we ask that you follow certain procedures. Our philosophy is that this is a shared responsibility between the student and the counselor. In college you will be on your own, managing your time and your affairs without the oversight of your parents, teachers, counselors, and school. Learn independence and responsibility now – you will feel a great deal of accomplishment if you take charge of the application process. Remember – you are the one going to college, and once there, you will find many more forms to fill out. Get comfortable with this responsibility. We also recognize that parents will want to help, but it is also up to the student to do his or her own part. Following are not only suggestions, but also directions as to how we work in the Counseling Department:
ỉ The application is yours to write – not your parents, your siblings, your teachers, or your counselors. If you are preparing a common application for several schools, you can begin the process after their portal opens on August 1. The common application will save a great deal of time – and do remember the supplements!
ỉ Counselor recommendations are required for nearly every private school. Colleges ask for a Secondary School Report (SSR), completed by your counselor, as well as a
counselor’s letter of recommendation, an official transcript that covers freshman through junior years, and a School Profile. After the fall semester, in January and early February, the counselors also send a Mid Year Report (MYR) that includes a “seventh semester transcript,” which adds an updated look at the applicant after fall grades are in.
§ For private schools that accept files electronically but are not common app schools, (at your “Applying to” list on Family Connection this is signified by a computer icon) the counselor will use an electronic document similar to the common application SSR. Like you, we will fill it out online and file all our documents electronically. For those that do not accept electronic applications
an individual applications Please give your counselor plenty of lead-time if you are applying to private schools. Be considerate of our time and respect our deadlines as follows:
ED and EA applicants – you must notify us of your intent by October 1.
Regular admission applicants – You must give your college list to your counselor by November 10.
We are serious about our deadlines. Please adhere to these deadlines. If you know you are applying early, turning your senior questionnaire in early (by the end of August) is essential. If you are late with your paperwork, your
recommendations may not reach the colleges by their deadlines. This does not create a good impression to the colleges or us.
ỉ Teacher recommendations are required for most private schools – usually one, but sometimes two. Colleges prefer recommendations from teachers in your core subjects (English, History, Math, Science, and Foreign Languages) who you had in your junior or senior year, and who preferably taught you for a full year. If you have a teacher in your senior year who taught you in freshman or sophomore year, that is a fine choice since he or she can also assess your academic growth. Please be very considerate of your
teachers. Teachers have the same deadlines as the counselors. They know that they will be writing recommendations, but it is an extra responsibility for them. Do not exceed the number of recommendations requested by a college. Discuss with your counselor who you will be asking for teacher recommendations. They know the faculty and can strategize your choices with you. Your counselor will guide you through the process of electronically requesting a teacher recommendation.
ỉ Provide the following for your counselor:
Your list of colleges, which must match the list you have made in Family Connection under “Applying to.” Indicate application due dates and whether the school accepts electronic filing. (Look for the icon)
For schools that require mailed recommendations: Give counselors two envelopes, stamped and addressed, for each of the college admissions offices, with a return address of Bishop O’Dowd. We will use one for the initial mailing (SSR, counselor recommendation, transcript, and School Profile) and the other to send your Mid-Year Report and 7th semester transcript in January. Provide new stamped envelopes if you add schools that do not accept electronic filing.
ỉ Provide the following for your teachers:
A photocopy of the college list you gave your counselor.
Each teacher will also need you to complete the Bishop O’Dowd Teacher Recommendation Resource Form (this is in your yellow folder). For schools that require mailed recommendations, for each teacher, provide one envelope for each of those colleges, pre-addressed and stamped. Organize all the paperwork for teachers in a large manila envelope so that everything stays together. Mark the envelope on the outside with your name and the earliest due date.
ỉ Recommendation instructions are also posted in the Document Library at Family Connection.
ỉ Read this section before filing your application: Download a copy of your completed application before filing it electronically (or sending it in the rare instance a college does not allow electronically submitted applications). Having a printed copy on hand is the best way to proofread it and identify egregious errors. If mailing it, ask the post office for a “Certificate of Mailing” (cost is $1.00) for each application. Do not send the application by Fed Ex, UPS, Registered, or Certified Mail – colleges tell us that receipt of your application may be delayed if you mail in this manner. Colleges are not equipped to sign for the applications, and they also do not want to take responsibility if it does not arrive. The Certificate of Mailing is sufficient. Have your counselor review the applications before submitting -- and remember to download a hard copy of your application before pushing the “Send” button.
ỉ Send your test scores to each college. Bishop O’Dowd does not send your test scores.
You must ask College Board and/or ACT to send your scores (SAT and/or ACT) to every single college to which you apply. This is absolutely essential – every single school wants an official report, and the reports should be sent with respect to application deadline dates. More detailed instructions are in the Document Library at Naviance.
ỉ If you have read this section, and adhered to this advice, you can safely assume that you have completed your applications in a timely fashion. Please remember that if you miss deadlines, there is usually no recourse and your application will not be accepted. It is essential you meet deadlines. If you do not notify your counselors or teachers in a timely fashion, their documents may be late. While this will not jeopardize your application (assuming you mailed or filed your part on time), it will raise your anxiety level, wondering when everything will be mailed. Your recommendations, SSR, and transcripts may be late, and the admissions committee may take this as a bad sign. If you have not already learned to be organized, this is the best time to begin.
ỉ The Counseling staff is eager and ready to help you and answer your questions – you are responsible for applying!