Application Season: Resources for All
College application season is upon us and TxCAN shares resources to make this season a little bit easier. Make sure to share, save, and bookmark!
We are right in the middle of college application season and deadlines are around the corner. Students have winter break on their minds. Maybe winter break is on your mind too and we don’t blame you. However, we must remind students to hit submit on their college applications. They are so close to the finish line. Let’s go into the winter break with peace of mind. At TxCAN, we want to share resources we believe can make this season a little bit easier. We hope you will share, save, and bookmark some or all of these as you work to motivate students toward the finish line.
“Making a List and Checking it Twice”
Are your students still in the process of finalizing their college list? Niche and Big Future are two FREE massive search engines that allow students to search for colleges based on a variety of factors (location, majors, costs, etc.). Niche asks all users to create an account, which is free and easy to set up and allows students to see real reviews from families and students. Big Future is College Board’s search engine, and it helps students balance their college list. Building a college list using Big Future makes students eligible to win College Board scholarships simply by using their platform to save their list.
Are your students interested in staying in state? Texas Crews is an interactive search engine that helps students compare Texas public universities, majors, and career schools based on graduate wages, student loan levels, graduation rates, and more.
“Happiest Season of All”
Application season is the happiest season of all, right? With applications also come several supplemental items including essays, recommendation letters, and school profiles. Linked below are resources for you and your students.
Essays
If your students are struggling with writer’s block, Story2 is here to save the day! Story2’s free package includes interactive college essay courses AND a story builder. Their StoryBuilder guides students through the process to build their essays from scratch. StoryBuilder is an extremely powerful tool to take students from zero words on the page to a solid rough draft all through verbal communication.
Do your students already have a rough draft, but need support to edit and refine their essay? Get Schooled is a free, digital, college and job advisor! They have so many free resources including articles for students looking for jobs but we love their free college essay reviews. Students must create a free account and allow for 7-10 days to receive feedback, so do advise students to plan accordingly.
Recommendation Letters
We know writing student recommendation letters for college is extremely time consuming especially if you have to complete multiple recommendation letters. We have gathered a list of resources to make this process a little bit easier. We strongly recommend building and saving a letter template you can use for all students and personalizing it as needed.
- Examples of Strong Recommendation letters provided by PrepScholar
- Teacher Guide: How to Write Rec. Letter by College Essay Guy uses the Table of Contents to navigate this lengthy but powerful guide
- Simple Virtual Template & Builder by Eforms
- Brag Sheets to be completed by students and given to teachers provided by CommonApp
School Profile
Do you need to create your school’s School Profile or maybe it needs some updating? A School Profile (or School Report) is a flier or brochure that gives admission officers an overview of your school. The School Profile includes student demographics, class offerings, curriculum information, graduation rates, and any other relevant information regarding the school.
The School Profile is often submitted and created by school counselors, and below are some resources if you need to create or update a School Profile. We recommend updating it every year.
- Creating your School Profile by College Board
- School Profile Counselor Guide by College Essay Guy
- School Profile examples by NACAC
- School Profile Word Template by Pinellas County Schools
“Tinsel all the Way”
Listed below are a few extra resources we wanted to make sure we didn’t miss!
For Students
- ADVi is a 24/7 college admissions chatbot for Texas Students
- Lifestyle Calculator by Texas Reality Check
- Student Application Tracker by Get Schooled
- Common App Support is 24/7 via Chat
- Apply Texas Support is available via email
For Counselors and Advisors
- Your Bright Future Toolkit from the Texas Workforce Commission
- ContigoEd’s On Demand Courses including Match & Fit Courses
- Texas OnCourse Admission and Application Process Courses
- Subscribe to National College Attainment’s Network Newsletter
