Useful resources like Naviance and the College and Career Center simplify the application process for college-bound seniors.
Naviance allows students to search for colleges and research careers.
Preparing for college can be an overwhelming process; therefore, the College and Career Center outside the counselors’ office provides helpful resources.
“In the College and Career Center, students can do a whole array of things from college searches, to career searches, to completing interest inventories,” said counselor Jamie McKenna.
Counselors are available to help students throughout the day, and the College and Career Center is open for students when there are no college visits that day.
“Students can use the computers to complete college applications, do research, or go on Naviance,” McKenna said.
Naviance is an online portal that connects students to their counselors and the colleges they are applying to. Every student has an account, and it allows them access to college, career and scholarship resources.
“The biggest benefit to Naviance is that you can look at scattergrams which compare your admission data to past GNHS graduates,” McKenna said.
Students in the past and current students can access Naviance on a daily basis from any computer. Its capability to organize all aspects of a college application is useful for students.
“I use Naviance for every aspect of my application process. It’s a very useful way to keep up with all of the different things I need to keep track of, which can be kind of overwhelming,” said senior Elizabeth Woodruff.
Naviance is very versatile, and it guides students through the complex application process. Some colleges may also require teacher recommendations.
“The most useful thing is that the letters of recommendation can easily get hooked up to the Naviance account,” said senior Michael Ang.
The counselors are always working to update the resources available to students.
“I’m always looking to make improvements to try and better the college process and how we do things,” McKenna said.
Students are always welcome to consult with counselors, meet with college representatives, or simply research schools.
“I wish that more kids knew about how helpful these resources are because the college process can be very overwhelming for some students,” Woodruff said.