What Is Naviance?

Naviance is a secure, web-based college research tool. This college and career readiness platform allows families to analyze current college application trends in order to plan and organize college searches. 

Since Naviance is used in many high school counseling offices, it is helpful for parents to know about it. According to the company, 40 percent of U.S.  high school students use Naviance in partnership with school guidance departments.

Naviance Login

High schools that use this tool will provide Naviance student login information for students. As juniors (or earlier for some high schools), students will use it to begin the college search process. Senior year students continue to use Naviance as a college application tool. 

Parents can also get an account that is linked to their student’s account. If you are a parent of a student (in grades 10 – 12) in a Naviance school, ask your child to register you/link you to his or her account. 

For Parents

It is good for parents to have that connection in order to receive updates from counseling offices and to be able to contact their teen’s guidance counselor. Every family is different so I recommend having a conversation with your teen regarding what else they want you to do with their Naviance account.

Questions to consider asking your teen include the following:

• Are you comfortable with me viewing and monitoring their activity? 
• Do you want me to suggest colleges and careers by adding them to your student list? 
• Can I view your assessment results?

Tools

Naviance provides a variety of college planning and career assessment tools. Personality assessments, resume tools, detailed college profiles, a student/college matching function, scholarship information and Scattergrams are just some of the resources.

Scattergrams

The Scattergrams tool uses historical acceptance data to help students be aware of their acceptance odds for various colleges. The data is entered by the student’s high school guidance office to show how many students from their high school applied, were admitted, waitlisted, or denied at a particular college in the past few years. 

Data points include grade point averages and standardized test (SAT and ACT) scores. This helps students narrow down their reach, target and safety/likelier schools on their college lists.

Scattergrams can be a useful measurement tool BUT it is not exact and should not definitely prevent students from applying to their desired colleges. Remember, many colleges are now test-optional and are taking a holistic approach to applicants.

SuperMatch

SuperMatch is another helpful college tool. Students select various criteria to determine if potential colleges would be a great fit. Location, cost, school size, religious affiliation, academic programs, athletics, admissions competitiveness and racial diversity are some of the criteria that can be placed into “Must Have” or “Nice to Have” categories.

Results can then be customized. Students are able to pin schools that they want to compare and “favorite” ones that they want to add to their “Colleges That I’m Thinking About” list.

More About Naviance

Naviance also interfaces with the Common Application which I will write about later this week. Once students have linked both accounts, Naviance can send transcripts, recommendation letters and other supporting documents to the Common App. (For instance, students will add their teacher requests for letters of recommendation only on Naviance.) 

Students track their college admissions decisions through Naviance. When admission decisions are received from colleges, students will notify their counseling office through their accounts.

The results of every single college (not just the college that students decided to attend) need to be updated. In addition to college results, all scholarship information that students were offered for all schools (not just the college that they will be attending) needs to be included in their Naviance accounts. 

To summarize, Naviance is a valuable tool that streamlines the college research process. If your teen’s high school offers Naviance, become familiar with the system and encourage your teen to fully use it. (I wish that they had something like this for every student!)

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Is your family questioning if applying early decision is worth it since it is a binding commitment? If so, I want to break down four admission types so that you can make the best decision for your high school senior.

Types of College Admissions

Applying Early Decision

Many private colleges offer early decision admissions. The early decision applications demonstrate to the school’s admissions committee that their school is a student’s first school choice.  

If a student is accepted through early decision, then it’s a binding agreement. That means that they will attend that school if accepted and are awarded a financial aid package that allows them to be able to attend that school. They will then withdraw any other regular admissions applications that they may have submitted to other schools.

If your teen is certain that a particular school is their number one pick, they can consider applying as an early decision student. Students can not apply to more than one college under early decision. Although you need to check the prospective school’s deadline, November 1st is the general deadline for early decision applicants.

Early Decision Benefits

1. Early decision applicants are notified of a school’s admissions decision before regular admission applicants. 

2. The early decision applicants receive an early financial aid package including any scholarships that the school is able to offer. [Note that students will still need to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile in order to receive their financial aid package.] 

3. It reduces the amount of stress and anxiety (time-wise at least) that students experience searching for a college during their senior year of high school. Many early decision applicants are notified by mid-December.

4. Some schools give additional perks to early decision applicants. Special offers include things like priority financial aid, early Fall 2023 registration, as well as early move-in to residence halls and early room selection for students who will live on campus.

(One university that sent my son information last year even offered free parking/to waive the school’s parking permit fee for the first year if he applied early decision.)

Additional Notes:

*Some schools have a second round of early decision applications in January.

*Legacy and recruited athletes are usually required to apply early decision. “Legacy” applicants are prospective students with some kind of family tie to a college or university.

*Overall, applying early decision can be an advantage. It can be especially helpful when applying to larger schools and universities.

Early Action Admissions

Another option for many schools is to apply early action. Many private and public schools offer this non-binding possibility.

Similar to the early decision, the application deadlines are usually November 1st. Early action admissions are good if the student really likes their grades from their junior year of high school and wants to be judged by them.

Unlike early decision admissions, early action applicants are not bound to the college that they apply to for early action. They don’t have to commit to attending a particular college if they are accepted early action. They can still choose to go to another college. Students can also apply early action to multiple colleges. 

If a student has a strong interest in attending a particular school, early action is great. They will receive an admission decision months before regular decision applications – giving them plenty of time to make a final decision. (Students will usually receive a response in January.)

Rolling Admissions

With this option, schools consider applications as they receive them. Many public schools offer this non-binding type of admission.

The earlier that students submit their applications, test scores and other materials, the sooner their applications will be reviewed. I encourage applying as soon as possible so that a decision can be made – by both the school and the student.

Regular Decision

Students can also apply to colleges as regular decision applicants. Usually, students will get a decision on their application around mid-March.

Other Admission Types

-Open Admissions: All students who apply are accepted until the incoming class is full.

–Single-Choice Early Action: This early decision alternative is non-binding. Students aren’t allowed to apply to other schools during the early action period with this selection though.

–Deferred Admission: Some colleges offer this decision to students who want to take a gap year. It allows them to postpone their enrollment (usually) for up to one year. 

I hope that knowing your family’s different options helps you to make a decision regarding the type of college admissions to pursue.

If my son had a school that he definitely (without a doubt) wanted to attend more than any other school, then I would have encouraged him to apply early decision and get it out of the way. He didn’t so he applied as a regular decision applicant. It’s always good to have multiple courses of action! 

One last reminder: Be sure to check with each prospective school to get their application deadlines. They could be earlier or later than the norms mentioned in this post.

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As I was learning about how colleges are taking a more holistic view of college applicants post-pandemic, it made me realize that teens can also take a holistic view of colleges that they place on their college lists. Remember that it is the teen (not just the college) making the choice!

What does that look like practically? Teens can determine if prospective schools have the attributes to be a good fit by asking themselves some of the questions below:

Mission Fit

-Is the prospective school’s mission similar to my personal desires?

Academic Fit

-Will the school’s academic offerings (classes, class sizes, internships, etc.) help me to attain my post-college goals?

-Are the teachers truly interested and vested in the success of their students?

-What type of guidance/counseling is available?

-Can I learn best in this environment?

Social Fit

-Will I fit in socially and connect with the other students?

Thomas Bear (from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) gave one piece of advice that really stood out when thinking about school “fit” socially: While visiting prospective colleges “eat lunch at the dining hall and listen to the conversations”.

Dining halls are definitely great places to get a glimpse of the various college student groupings.

-Is the diversity at a level that I am comfortable with?

-Will the clubs and activities that are offered enhance my college experience?

-Will my passions and interests be encouraged here? Can I be my genuine, authentic self at this college?

Financial Fit

-Will the financial aid package that the college offers work for my family?

You can use the College Net Price Calculator tool to quickly find out how much your family will need to pay for each potential college.

Every college website is required (by federal law) to have this college grant estimation tool on its website. You can also find the link for your desired school’s net price calculator on the U.S. Department of Education’s Net Price Calculator Center.

-Am I willing to get a job, participate in a work-study program and/or take out loans for costs not covered by grants, scholarships and the like?

Ultimately, we want our teens to go to colleges that are good fits – places where we believe that they can be successful. I loved when Grace Bradley (from Barnard College) said, “There are multiple wonderful options” for each student.

She also echoed what I had said in my prior college list post – students should apply to schools that they would be excited to go to. That way, even if they don’t get into their “first choice” school, they end up with other great choices.

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It can seem as if college options are limitless. There are both small and large colleges, private liberal arts colleges, private research universities and public universities (in and out of state). That is why I am sharing 7 tips regarding narrowing down the thousands of options to a manageable list of colleges:

Seven Tips

1. Visit colleges. Visiting a variety (large, small, public, private, etc.) of colleges can help teens decide what type of college experience is best for them.

During campus tour visits, talk to a variety of people including teachers, students and other staff. (Tip: Try to talk to current students outside of the official college tour and information sessions.)

2. Attend college fairs. They present a great opportunity for students and parents to explore various colleges and learn about the college process.

The interactive events often include opportunities to gather campus materials, engage with admissions representatives and explore financial aid options.

3. Use college websites and social media spaces (i.e. YouTube videos by students) to get a better understanding of the school culture.

4. Read books about colleges. Fiske guides are especially reputable.

5. Talk to recent alumni about their (positive or negative) college experiences.

6. Check US News & World Report’s college rankings if college selectivity is important to you.

7. Use college search engines to filter colleges that are good fits. College Navigator is one of my favorite college search tools based on its data-driven approach.

Number of Colleges

Ultimately, teens want to narrow down their college lists to schools that would actually be exciting for them to attend.

Professionals recommend that the final list be limited to 8 to 12 colleges (1-2 “reach” colleges; 5-8 “target” colleges and 1 “safety/likelier” school. My son followed this model and it worked out well for him.

Do what works best for your family though. For instance, I only applied to 3 colleges before choosing Columbia.

Stay Organized

Regardless of how many colleges teens put on their lists, you can help them to stay organized and keep track of the various college deadlines.

Many schools help students do this through their school’s subscription to Naviance, which I will write more about next week. Meanwhile, you can also create a simple spreadsheet to keep track of key deadline dates.

College List Timeline

*FRESHMAN: Some driven students begin their college search as early as their Freshman year of high school.

*SOPHOMORE: Fall of the Sophomore year is a great time for most students to start their search. They can begin by visiting local colleges and fairs along with the other suggestions listed above.

*JUNIOR: Junior year is when students really start to actively build their prospective school lists. During this time, make college visits (either virtual or in-person) and attend information sessions. High school counselors should be able to help with college visits.

*SENIOR: By Senior year, college lists should be finalized. It’s important that college choices are completed early in the fall because early decision and early action applications are due on November 1st. (I will write more about the various college application deadlines next week.)

In my opinion, the student’s school preference (within reason) matters the most when it comes to creating college lists. Look for a great fit for the student…NOT just a great college name and reputation.

P.S. I have created a simple FREE “College List” Google spreadsheet to help you keep track of key college application deadline dates. It includes a sample college with various deadlines. Simply send me an email (kimberly@collegeprepmom.com) with “College List” in the Subject area and I will send it to you!

If you found this post helpful, please share it. Thanks!

Recommended:

• Is College For Me? (QPL)
  *Since I reject the assumption that every academically gifted student must go to college, I appreciate this article.
  
• 50 Questions to Ask on a College Visit (U.S. News & World Report)
  *Students can use this article as a reference when they visit colleges and meet with college representatives. 
  
• College admissions are stressful enough. Parents, don’t make it worse. (The Washington Post)
  *I appreciate these great reminders for parents to be thoughtful during this process.

The post 7 Practical Tips to Create Your College List in 2022 appeared first on College Prep Mom Blog.

I’m Kimberly Coleman, an NYC wife and mom of two teen sons. I have also been a professional lifestyle content creator (Mom in the City) for over seventeen years.

I graduated from NYC’s Columbia College back in 1995. A lot has changed in the college application and admissions process since then. 

My oldest son graduated from Townsend Harris High School in June of 2022. (It’s #1 in New York/ #19 in the nation.*) Due to the school’s guidance along with my access to various parenting “experts”, the college search process was pretty painless for our family.

I agree with Horace Mann, a promoter of public education, that “Education…is a great equalizer” and I think that higher education should be available to anyone who wants it. 

That is why I look forward to helping you lessen the stress of college planning – parent to parent!

(*According to U.S. News & World Report)

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