Career & College

For students who are considering applying to schools that use the Common App, it's a smart choice to stick with it for all the colleges that accept it, simplifying the application process.

Some schools have an institution-specific application. Most community colleges, junior colleges and some smaller state or private colleges have one application method. Below are three examples of this type of application. 

• The University of California maintains its own application system. The application must be submitted between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30. Use this application to apply to the following campuses: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. The UC requirements for admissions differ from Colorado high school graduation requirements; see the UC system’s out-of-state admissions requirements.
• California State University maintains its own application system, which opens for fall 2025 applications on Oct. 1, 2024.
• Montana State University is a school that many Golden students apply to; MSU has a pretty quick and easy application process that is institution-specific.

Early Decision

Please note that if you are applying to a school for “early decision,” you must let the counseling office know. There are additional steps on our end that must be completed before your application can be sent. Early decision applications are binding. This means that you are agreeing to attend that school if you are accepted and that you will withdraw all of your other applications if you are accepted. You may only apply to one school as “early decision.”

Definitions of Admission Options in Higher Education

Students: Which college admission process best suits you?

Note:

• For regular, rolling and early action, students are not restricted from applying to other institutions and have until May 1 to consider their options and confirm enrollment.
• For ED and REA, students are responsible for determining and following restrictions.

Common App Walkthrough video

1. Go to www.commonapp.org. 
2. Create a Common Application account by clicking “Create an Account” and then “First Year Student.”
3. Enter email address and password and answer the initial questions. 
4. Use your personal email address (do not use your jeffcoschools.us email) for colleges to use when communicating with you. 

Complete the following tasks before matching to your Naviance account.

1. Complete the following information in the “Education” section of the Common App:

• In the first section, “Current or Most Recent Secondary/High School,” add “Golden Senior High School.” 
  • GHS school code is: 060670 
  • GHS Graduation date is May 2026 
• Enter your counselor’s name, email address and phone number. 
  • Maureen Costello: maureen.costello@jeffcoschools.us, 303-982-4200 
• In the “Grades” section: 
  • Graduating class size – 347
  • Class rank reporting – Exact; GHS reports weighted rank on your transcript in Infinite Campus, or ask for a printed one in the counseling office.
  • GPA scale reporting – 4 (it is not a 5-point scale, a common mistake) 
  • Cumulative GPA – Enter GPA from IC; Jeffco lists weighted GPA 
  • GPA weighting – Weighted 
  • Enter all current-year courses. The credit value is 0.5 for a semester-long class (TA is an exception and is .25 credits). 
• Enter any honors received (for example an academic letter, nominated for an underclassmen award, etc). 
• “Community-Based Organization” – Common App wants to know if anyone from a CBO has provided free assistance in your application process. 
• “Future Plans” – indicate what your career interest is and what level of degree you plan on earning. 

2. Go to the College Search Tab: 

• Add at least one college to your “My Colleges List.” If you cannot find the college you are looking for, it’s probably not a Common App member school. 

3. Go to the “My Colleges” tab:

• The FERPA Release of Authorization is found within the “Recommenders and FERPA” section of the “My Colleges” tab. 
• Click on a college to expand the list below the colleges. Click on the section titled “Recommenders and FERPA,” then click on the “Complete Release Authorization” button to complete the release. This is where you will find the FERPA statement; it will only appear after the Education section is complete. Click on “Complete Release Authorization.” 
• Read the questions carefully. Check the box next to “I have read and understood the FERPA release authorization explanation above,” then click continue.
• Click the box next to “I acknowledge that every school …”
• Select the circle next to “I waive my right to review all recommendations and supporting documents.” 
• Click the box that states, “I understand that my waiver or no waiver selection above pertains to all colleges to which I apply and that my selections on this page cannot be changed once I sign and click save below.” 
• Sign and click “Save.”

Matching to Naviance account

• Sign into your Naviance account. Use “Log in with Active Directory,” enter your Jeffco username and password, choose the teal Naviance icon once Clever logs you in (it is a lot of clicking for a “clever” app). 
• Once in your Naviance account, under the “College” tab go to “Colleges I’m Applying To.” There will be a pink banner across the top of the page where you should click on “Match Accounts.”
• This should take you to your Common Application Account where you will finally sync the two accounts.
• Once the two accounts are matched, Naviance should populate any of the colleges you have already listed in the Common App. As you add colleges to your Common App, you may have to refresh your Naviance page to make sure the “Colleges I’m Applying To” list updates. 

Make sure that in your Common App, you have selected the correct application deadline. For example, CU Boulder’s early action deadline is Nov. 15 and their regular decision deadline is Jan. 15. If you submit your application on the free application day (Oct. 17) but choose the Jan. 15 deadline, your application may not be processed until January.

Review the College Application Process and Transcript Request Form. This form must be turned into counseling before we can send transcripts to colleges. 

1. Pay attention to the first page; you must complete each step that applies to you before GHS is able to send your transcript, letters of recommendation and other supporting documents to the colleges you are applying to. 
2. Printed copies of this form are available in the counseling office. If you need support with completing any of the steps ask us – we are here to help! 
3. Transcripts are $3 per transcript, cash or check in the counseling office, or pay the financial secretary with a credit or debit card and bring the receipt with your completed form to counseling. 
4. You can also choose to add it to your school fees and pay for the transcripts prior to the end of the year.

The steps are a little different for Common App vs. other application types. For example, with the Common App you don’t need to add schools to your “Colleges I’m Applying To” list once you match the two accounts. For all other applications, you must add the school to your “Colleges I’m Applying To” list and choose the application type and deadline.

Do students need letters of recommendation? The short answer is, maybe.

Teacher

Some colleges won’t accept a teacher’s letter of recommendation. Some don’t require one at all but will accept one, and some schools require one. 

It is uncommon for a school to require two letters of recommendation from teachers. For this reason, we request that students only ask for second teacher letters of recommendation if it is indeed required.

If you think that you need another letter to support your application to a very competitive school, please confirm that the school will accept another letter before asking a teacher to write one for you. The process to get a letter of recommendation from a teacher:

• Personally talk to the teacher and ask for a letter of recommendation. Give them at least three weeks notice before the college deadline.
• Ask them if they want a LOR form on which you will fill out details about yourself and your successes and challenges in their class.
• If they want a form, you can access it digitally, or physically from the counseling office. Return this form to them ASAP.
• After talking to the teacher, add the request in your Naviance account under Colleges > Letters of Recommendation.
• Choose which colleges the letters will go to; you can either choose certain schools or enter the request as a general request. If you choose specific schools, you will need to regularly update Naviance each time you add a school.

The teacher will not be able to write your letter or upload it to Naviance without each of the steps being completed. 

Counselor

Students need to complete the Counselor Information form if they are using the Common App. There are several forms that the counselor must complete on students’ behalf, and the information provided helps them give a better picture. 

Most colleges do not require a counselor’s letter of recommendation. However, if you are applying to a very competitive school that accepts a letter, it could help your application.

When completing the counselor recommendation form, you will be asked if you need a letter of recommendation from your counselor. Answer “yes” if you do and “no” if you don't. If it turns out that you do need one after you have submitted the form, just let your counselor know and the form can be reopened for you.

Coach or other recommender

If you need a recommendation from someone who does not work at Jeffco Public Schools, you will need to send them a request through the application you are using.

In the Common App, there is an “Other Recommenders” section. This is where you enter their name and email address. This is managed by you and the outside recommender; GHS cannot upload things to the Common App or other applications for outside recommenders. 

If you need a letter from a Jeffco employee who doesn’t work at Golden, let the counseling office know and we can create a Naviance account for them to upload their recommendation.

If athletes are planning to enroll in college as freshmen and wish to participate in collegiate athletics, they must be certified by the NCAA Initial Eligibility Center. Students should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center no later than the end of their junior year. 

It is the student’s and parent’s responsibility to verify their eligibility for NCAA participation and to register each year for NCAA-approved core courses. 

• NCAA Eligibility Center
• NCAA FAQ
• NCAA registration checklist
• List of Approved NCAA Courses by HS

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