Overview:
College planning can seem daunting for students and their families. There is no reason families need to wait until a student's junior or senior year to begin to explore college as a post-high school pathway. School counselors will work with students and their families to identify the resources available to them as early as freshman year and to help manage this process over their high school years. Linked below is a general timeline for college planning and the tasks associated. We have also provided a few things to think about as part of this process.
- Know yourself. This involves an in-depth look at desires, needs, strengths, and talents. Students should make an honest appraisal of academic strengths, weaknesses, and performance. Also, it's important to assess extra-curricular activities, interests, and goals and connect with those interests and goals each year of high school.
- Know the institutions. This involves researching colleges in order to find ones that match a students' academic strengths, learning style, and extracurricular goals. Research plays a significant part while weighing all the factors important to a student, but visiting is the best way to truly get a feel for a college.
- Know that it's a process. It is likely that there will be several appropriate colleges for students to seriously consider. There will be plenty of deliberation and in-depth conversations over where a student should attend college. Although choosing a college is an important decision, it's not a choice that rigidly defines a student's future.
Class of 2026 Post High School Planning:
Counselors will meet with all seniors through English 12 classes at GHS in the first two weeks of school to discuss, in detail, the steps necessary in their post high school planning. A virtual evening event will also be held on Thursday, September 11th at 6:30pm for parents, guardians, Jumpstart students, and any student who misses the classroom lesson due to absence or early release. Below are some of the resources that will be reviewed and that will be essential elements in your student's planning process.
HCPSS Class of 2026 College Application Website
This is a google site that includes all parts of the college application process including step by step instructions, resource documents, screencasts, and FAQ's.
This workbook is not mandatory by any means, but can be used to track the ALL the components of the application for each college for those who love or need extra organizational tools.
HCPSS Post Secondary Resources
The site provides valuable resources for future planning for all students regardless of your intended pathway.
HCPSS Waiver of Rights and Release of Records Form
All 2026 seniors were instructed to complete the waiver and to submit it to Mrs. Hooks, registrar, by June 1, 2025. This form is a mandatory form for all graduating seniors regardless of their post high school plans.
Counselor and Teacher Information Surveys:
These surveys are available in Naviance beginning in the spring of a student's junior year. They are crucial for staff to have when writing recommendations for college admissions and career opportunies. These surveys should be completed no later than June 1st of a student's junior year. To access these surveys:
- Go the Naviance homepage
- Click the About Me tab
- Click the Surveys From Your School tab
- Students should not complete the teacher information surveys until they have obtained a verbal commitment from the teacher that they are willing and able to write on their behalf.
College Planning: Frequently Asked Questions
Please click HERE to review frequently asked questions about the college planning process.
College Rep Visits to GHS and Workshops hosted by Student Services:
Student Services will run two College Essay Writing workshops in the fall of 2025. These workshops will be held on Tuesday, September 16 and Wednesday, October 8th right after school in the media center. College admissions representatives and GHS staff will be on hand to discuss student essay topic ideas and read over essays, offering input.
Students can access the list of college representative visiting Glenelg this fall in their Naviance account. This list is continually updated as colleges schedule appointments with Student Services. Once the school year begins, students will be able to register for college visits and the essay workshops by:
- Going to the Naviance Home page
- Clicking on the Colleges tab
- Clicking on the College Visits link
- Clicking on the event they wish to register for
Financial Aid
Every student applying to college should complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) regardless of family income. The FAFSA opens for completion in October of a student's senior year.
For information on additional ways to pay for college visit U.S. Department of Education website. Also check out the information shared by the Office of Financial Aid and Howard Community College.
Junior College Planning Information
Student Services meets with all students in the spring of their junior year to begin to outline several early deadline tasks which are part of the college application and post high school planning process. Our team will also offers a parent/guardian evening event on March Thursday, March 12th 2026 at 6:30pm to share this information.
College Application Checklist Junior/Senior Year
College Admissions Exams (SAT/ACT's)
Requesting Transcripts and Letters of Recommendation
School staff use Naviance to send transcripts and letters of recommendation to colleges and universities. Students must complete very specific steps in Naviance in order to request transcripts and letters of recommendation and ensure they are sent. There are also a variety of reasons a student will need to request transcripts that are not part of the college application.
Naviance Instructions (All requests for transcripts for college applications and NCAA)
All other requests for transcripts - All non-college related transcript requests (ie. Scholarships, internships, employment, NHS application
In order for school staff to send transcripts and letters of recommendation on behalf of current students, a Waiver of Rights and Records Release Form must be on file. The form below should be completed and submitted to our registrar in advance of a request.
Waiver of Rights and Records Release Form
Scholarship Opportunity Bulletin
Seniors (and Juniors) can begin to access a variety of scholarships through the Scholarship Bulletin below. Be sure to explore all links at the top of the bulletin to review college specific, senior class, and junior class specific scholarship opportunities. This document will continually updated so interested students should check back frequently for updates.
Guidelines and Resources:
- The College Application Process - video found under College Application In-House Documents
- College Essay Guy
- Scholarships and Financial Aid - found under College Application In-House Documents
- Postsecondary Disability Support Services
- Social Media and College Admissions
- United State Military Service Academy Admissions