2024 apps are open!

I hope that seniors are feeling refreshed and recharged from a restful and productive summer.

The start of August has arrived, and that means that applications for fall 2024 college entry are updated and available to you!

I'll have more to say about changes to the 2024 application process (and advice for applicants) in future blog posts. For students applying to most private and many public universities, the Common App is where you'll prepare most of your application materials. If you haven't opened an account, go ahead and set one up (with an email address that you'll check frequently-- it's always a good idea to make one just for managing college correspondence.)

You can start filling out the personal, family and education sections anytime-- they're easy to do. Have a copy of your transcript with grades 9-11 on hand, and be ready to ask your family some questions if you aren't sure about their educational history and employment.

Go ahead and add schools you know you're applying to to your dashboard. That way you can see the supplemental essays they'll require, as well as whether or not they'll require the self-reported transcript form or any other optional steps.

Click through the image to the Common App homepage.

There is a fantastic free step-by-step video guide to the Common App, with expert advice from admission and counseling pros, available at the link below.

The University of California application is also available to review and begin working on now. There are helpful guides to completing the application from the UC system on their site. Remember, UC's open the application for submission in the month of November, but it's open for you to work on now!