Preparing For College

Want to go to college? Begin the college checklist process!

Thinking about applying to college? Here are some steps you might want to take depending on which statement fits you best.

I know where I want to apply and don’t need any help or letters of recommendation.

• Sounds like you have a plan. Feel free to contact your counselor if you have any questions.
• Don’t forget to send your transcript using Parchment.
  

I know where I want to apply and need help with the applications and/or letter writing process.

• Contact your the Career Center to schedule an appointment.

• Make sure you schedule the appointment at least 3 weeks prior to your earliest deadline
• If you need a letter of recommendation, first talk to the person who wish to write a letter and then officially request one through Major Clarity through the Application Center.

 I am not sure where to start? No worries, we can help with that.

1. Make an appointment with your counselor and they will help you get started.
2.  Or, Cliff Kirkpatrick in the Beyond CV center is also a great resource who can guide you through the process.

Letter of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are an important part of many college and scholarship applications. 

Many college and scholarship applications require one or more letters of recommendation from teachers and a letter of recommendation from your counselor. If you are reading this before your senior year, keep this in mind! It’s important for your counselor and your teachers to get to know you so they can write the strongest letters possible.

How do I request letters of recommendation? 

1. First, identify whether you need letters of recommendation or not. Many schools (like Oregon State University and University of Oregon) do not require letters and will not review them while assessing your application. Because our teachers receive so many letter requests, we try to avoid “just in case” letters. If you realize you will need a letter of recommendation for a scholarship or college application, we need to give teachers three weeks of time before the due date, so it’s important not to procrastinate this process.

2. Download and complete the CVHS Counseling Center College Process Checklist.

3. Contact your counselor to set up a College Appointment. Complete your Letter of Recommendation packet prior to this meeting, if possible.

• Annika Bay: annika.bay@corvallis.k12.or.us 
• Sara McCune: sara.mccune@corvallis.k12.or.us
• Jeremy Roberson: jeremy.roberson@corvallis.k12.or.us

4. At your college appointment, you’ll be able to discuss which teachers you are hoping will write you letters and talk about your application deadlines.

5. Then talk to the person who wish to write a letter and then officially request one through Major Clarity through the Application Center.

6. You will invite your teachers (and counselor) to be recommenders on Common App, Coalition, or the college’s application webpage. Teachers will upload their letters directly to the appropriate website and provide the Counseling Center with a copy of the letter for future use.

Sending Your Transcript

There are two main methods for sending your transcript to the post-secondary school of your choice:

• Parchment
• Services like Common App, Coalition, and SendEDU.

The method you will use depends on where you want to send your transcript. The easiest way to figure it out is to work backwards. If you are using a service like Common App or Coalition, you don’t need to use Parchment. We will send your transcript through that service. A few universities will ask you to send your transcript through a service called SendEDU. If this is the case, the application for that school will ask you to print out a paper to give to us. Please feel free to email that to your counselor.

For almost all other applications, you will send your transcript using Parchment (Links to an external site.).

Please ask your counselor if you have any questions!

Steps to take as a College-Bound Student

This document is meant to be an overview of the steps students should take if they are planning to go to college. Please visit our Beyond CV office , schedule an appointment with your counselor or explore more of our website for more information.