Nine Tips for Navigating the Application Process

  1. Carefully read and follow the application instructions.
  2. Submit a complete application early.

    The date an application is complete is an important factor in determining a student’s course placement. Applications are evaluated in the order they are complete.

  3. Plan ahead to submit all application documents on time.

    For example, give your teacher your Teacher Recommendation Form as early as possible, ideally before your winter break.

  4. Get your Teacher Recommendation Form from one of your current-year teachers in an academic subject (e.g., language arts, math, science).

    Recommendations from teachers in non-academic subjects (e.g., gym, speech, music, art) are not accepted.

  5. Carefully consider your course choices.

    Apply only for courses that you actually intend to take. While listing alternate courses does help us place you into a class, you should not list alternate courses that you do not plan to take. Each course choice you list on your application represents a commitment on your part, and if you would rather not attend the program than take a course other than your first choice, you should not list alternate choices.

  6. Submit a copy of your most recent report card from the current (2011-2012) school year only.

    Do not submit report cards from last year or progress reports.

  7. Ensure your academic product/essay shows your own original thought.

    Do not submit a writing sample in which you simply restate facts. The piece you choose should show how you analyze information and how you look at the world. If you submit an essay you wrote for English class, for example, make sure it includes your own literary analysis and that it is just not a book report that merely summarizes information about the plot and characters

  8. If applying for financial aid, be sure to submit ALL pages of both parents’ most recent Federal Income Tax Returns (and all Schedules, if applicable).

    You do not need to include worksheets. Applications with missing or incomplete tax returns will not be considered for financial aid.

  9. Submit all application documents at once (including your Teacher Recommendation Form).

    Incomplete applications are not evaluated.