College Application Procedures

Currently the best practice for applying to colleges and universities is online.  According to college representatives, it is highly recommended for students to visit the desired college’s website and apply online.  Information from college sources indicate that applications online are received immediately, less prone to mistakes and processed faster.  Paper applications may be found in the College/Career Center on a limited basis.

Online applications are filled out and submitted on the college’s website.  Most online applications will require a username and password, of the applicant’s choice.  This will allow applicants to save and return to the application, if necessary.  Follow directions completely.  All information needs to be completed. When specified, print the required pages. The high school ACT/CEEB code is 142655.  Some colleges and universities waive or reduce the application fee if students apply online.  Online applications requiring a fee are generally paid with a credit card.  Paper applications that require a fee are paid by check.  All paper applications MUST be signed by the student.  Parents should review the application for accuracy.

Return completed applications, signature pages and/or print-outs from online applications to the College/Career Center located in the Guidance Services office.  If there are no print-outs from an online application, you are still required to complete a transcript request card.  THIS IS A MUST!  To complete a transcript request card (available in the College/Career Center) the card must have your signature, the date of the day you bring your application to the College/Career Center and the school you wish transcripts to be sent to.  On the line with the name of the school, please write “online” if you applied online.  PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY APPLICATIONS OR TRANSCRIPT REQUEST CARDS ON THE DESK IN THE COLLEGE/CAREER CENTER.  Give completed application and/or transcript request card to the College/Career Center manager with the necessary paperwork.  For example: completed teacher recommendations, completed teacher recommendation pages from an online application, counselor recommendation pages, personal statements, essays or any other information that needs to be included with the application.  We cannot send any transcript unless the transcript request card is signed.  Incomplete applications will be referred back to the student before processing. 

Once the application is given to the College/Career Center Manager, it is checked for completeness and given to the student's counselor for final processing (attaching any necessary counselor recommendations, official transcripts, ACT scores, and a final look at the college essay, if applicable. The application will then be mailed. Postage will be paid by LTHS.  Please do not put a return address on any envelope that is turned in with an application.

Please be aware of the deadline for the application you are turning in. We will mail the completed college application packet for you as expediently as possible. Times run higher during peak college application deadline periods. Please get the completed application back to us as soon as possible to avoid delays.  With the volume of applications that we receive in October and November, a ten day buffer from the time you turn in your application is necessary in order to get applications out in a timely fashion. We cannot be held responsible for postmarks on any application that we mail in which we have not been given a ten day lead time during peak application periods.

Any questions about the college application process should be directed to the College/Career Center Manager or your student's counselor.