You should start applying for colleges during Fall of your Senior year. Each school will have application deadline information on their websites – and note whether they have a priority deadline. You will want to meet the priority date to give you your best opportunities for early admission and for scholarships. Some colleges will have deadlines in November or December of your Senior year so make sure that you know the deadlines are for your chosen schools and do not miss them!
There are a lot of things for you to consider when making the choice of where to go to college. Do you want to stay near home or move away? What are you going to study? What are the admissions requirements? Are there schools that will award you a scholarship?
Start when you are a Junior by keeping a notebook or digital file where you can collect college information, thoughts and ideas.
Watch for the College Tour that happens in October. Most of the Utah colleges come to LHS to give information to all Seniors. This is a great way to get started forming opinions about which school might be a good fit for you. Then go to the Utah Futures website to compare Utah colleges and find out which schools offer the area of study that you are interested in and what their costs are.
Once you’ve started narrowing down your choices, schedule a campus tour. Not only will this give you a good feel for the school and get all your questions answered, but it will be a lot of fun!
Visit Open Houses! Most schools will have an open house where you can go to campus and talk to current students.
If you are thinking of going out of state, start with the college’s website and click on the section that will be called “admissions”, “apply”, “new students” or “incoming freshman”.
You can apply to as many schools as you want to, but keep in mind that most schools will charge you an application fee, so that can really add up. Find out when Utah College Application Week is – some Utah schools will waive the application fee during this week.
This will depend on where you are applying - Utah schools want the ACT. If you are applying out of state, check their website to see which they prefer.
One bit of advice - research shows that students that take the ACT over and over don't usually raise their score much unless they've done some ACT Prep. There are a lot of ways to get that ACT study in - online, at school and even as apps on your phone! Never pay for this service - there are lots of great, FREE resources! Check out these to get started:
Shmoop website (see the Career Center to access your PAID shmoop account for FREE!)
Utah Futures website
ACT Test PrepSAT/ACT Prep
Request a copy of your official LHS transcript by clicking here, or by signing up in the Career Center. Request which schools you want your ACT/SAT scores to go to when you register to take it.
Yes. If you are planning to take some time after High School for humanitarian, religious or military service, you should still complete your college applications during your senior year of high school. Once you have been accepted to the college of your choice, then you can apply for a deferment while you are away. Each school will have their own requirements about how this should be done, so make sure you know what that is. If you don’t do it properly before you leave, you could lose your spot.
This is the same for scholarships – apply, accept, then defer, but not for financial aid.
College Applications aren’t too bad, but it is common to have a question or two that you aren’t sure how to answer. All applications are online through the Colleges website, so bring your laptop and come in to the Career Center for help anytime!
Here is some of the information you’ll need to get you started: