Class of 2026 College Application Information
San Mateo High School Profile
Class of 2026 Timeline:
Key College/ Financial Aid Application Dates
Mixed-status families, view our handout to see which financial aid application is right for you. Available in English and Spanish.
August 1st - Common Application Opens
August 1st - UC Application Opens
October 1st - FAFSA/CADAA Application Opens
October 1st - CSS Profile Application Opens- (An additional financial aid application required by roughly 10% of colleges, list available here)
October 1st - CSU Application Opens
October 15th - November 15-th Early Decision & Early Action – Most ED and EA deadlines fall between 10/15 – 11/15, but check with each individual college to be sure you don’t miss any deadlines.
November 30th - UC applications Deadline(One deadline for all applications in the system)
November 30th - CSU applications Deadline (One deadline for all applications in the system)
December 15th - February 1st - Regular Decision – Most colleges will have their regular decision deadline somewhere between 12/15 – 2/1, with the majority falling in January. Again, be sure to check each individual school you’re looking at.
Theater & Other Performance Majors – Often your application type is considered regular decision, but can have a deadline that matches up with the ED or EA timetable due to auditions. If you’re applying to a theater or other audition based major, be prepared to have applications due on the earlier end of the application cycle.
December - March - Community College Application for Summer/ Fall Opens
March 2nd - FAFSA/CADAA Deadline
College Applications-
California State University (October 1st- November 30th)
CSU Application
How to Launch CSU App from Californiacolleges.edu
How to import courses and grades to CSU app from Californiacolleges.edu
University of California (August 1st- November 30th)
UC Application
How to Launch UC App from Californiacolleges.edu
Personal Insight Questions (PIQs)
PIQ Tips & Tricks (Must be logged in with SMUHSD school email account to access the video.)
UC & CSU Similarities & Differences Slides
Non-Common App Schools to Naviance (Updated video will be available in the fall.)
Common Application (August 1st- varies by college)
Used by many Private and out of State Colleges
Common Application
Common App Essay Prompts
Common App Essay Information & Tips Video
Students applying to colleges through Naviance will be required to match their Common App with their Naviance account.
Common App - Naviance Matching Instructional video (Updated video will be available in the fall.)
Private Colleges Presentation Slides
Letter of Recommendation Process
Private colleges typically request letters of recommendation from teachers, and sometimes counselors as well.
Deadlines
September 22nd - Deadline to request Letter of Recommendation for all College Applications due 11/29 or earlier
November 17th - Deadline to request Letter of Recommendation for all College Applications due after 11/29
Teacher Letter of Recommendation Process
-
Reach out to your teachers to ask them for a letter of recommendation.
- Submit your letter of recommendation request through Naviance.
- Complete the teacher letter of recommendation contract and send a copy to each teacher writing a letter for you.
- Keep in mind that students are limited to asking two teachers for a letter of rec.
Teacher Letter of Rec. Process (Video link will be posted in the fall.)
Counselor Letter of Recommendation Process
Some Universities require a counselor letter of recommendation. If a counselor letter of recommendation is required, please follow the instructions below.
- Check to see if the college(s) you’re applying to require a counselor letter of recommendation.
- Match your Common App to Naviance. This will allow the two systems to communicate with each other in properly sending in letters of rec. and other important application materials. Ms. Hanson will upload a video before the end of the month detailing these steps.
- Complete the Senior Survey.
- Complete the transcript request form.
- Within a few days of you completing these steps, Ms. Hanson will review your Naviance to make sure that everything is set up properly. If everything is good, she will let you know that everything is all set up for Ms. Zimmerman’s letter to be uploaded upon its completion. If additional things are needed, she will let you know what you still need to complete.
Letter of Recommendation Process Handout
How to enter your grades on College Applications
Please view this Google Doc to learn more about entering grades on College Applications.
SAT’s & ACT’s
The UC’s and CSU’s are test blind. A test blind school will not look at your score at all, even if you have a perfect score and send it in. So no positive points can be added to your application with a score.
Many colleges are still test optional. You can find a list of test optional schools here.
If you are unsure of whether or not a school you’re looking at requires a test score be submitted, the answer can usually be found on their admissions page. If you are applying to a test optional school and you’re not sure whether or not sending in a score would be a good thing for your application, please see Ms. Hanson for advice.
Transcript Requests
Seniors can request official transcripts only through this link. Students can access their unofficial transcripts on Aeries.
Outside Transcripts
If you have taken a course at a local community college, BYU Independent Study, or some other outside institution, don’t forget to send those transcripts to the college you’re applying to, if requested. Our local community colleges and BYU Independent Study are the most common outside institutions that our students will take classes from, so here are links on how to order those transcripts:
CSM/Skyline/Cañada College - https://smccd.edu/transcript/request.php
BYU Ind. Study - https://is.byu.edu/transcripts
If you took a course through another outside institution, their individual policy for ordering a transcript will vary. You’ll need to check in with that institution, and make sure that when you order a transcript that you’re having it directly shipped to the colleges you’re applying to. If you have it shipped to you first, it is no longer considered an official transcript the moment you open the envelope that contains the transcript.
College Visits
Fall SMHS College Visit List – We will host several college visits through the fall. You can click the link at the start of this paragraph to see a list of schools scheduled to visit us this semester. This list will continue to grow as more visits get scheduled, so please be sure to check this list somewhat regularly. Visits will mostly be held during lunch or tutorial. For lunch visits no pass is required and you are welcome to eat your lunch in the Career Center while attending the visit. For tutorial visits you can schedule a meeting with Ms. Hanson in Teachmore. Sometimes a visit will occur during class time. When that happens, you can pick up a pass from the Career Center to show your teacher.
Other College Events – Colleges will occassionaly send me upcoming presentations and events that they might be hosting or participating in. These events will sometimes require pre-registration. Rather than advertise each individual event with its own announcement or email, you can visit the link in this section for a Google sheet that will be updated through the year as these events are sent my way.
Financial Aid Basics
Financial Aid applications will open in October. You MUST submit your financial aid application by March 2nd to qualify for the full amount of potential state aid. However, you may have a school on your list that wants it earlier, so please be mindful of individual school deadlines.
Students must complete only one Financial Aid Application
FAFSA
How to create your FSA ID (for FAFSA filers)
California Dream Act
California Dream Act Application
Completing CA Dream Act (for undocumented seniors)
Scholarships
The District Scholarship List has moved into Naviance. For instructions on how to access and navigate the scholarship list, please click here. Parents, if you don't have a parent account you can still access this list, but select Guest in step 3.
Senior Survey
The Senior Survey is completed by all seniors to help with two things. The survey will be used to help Ms. Zimmerman in writing a letter of recommendation, and the information will be used to match students up with potential scholarship opportunities.
Instructional Videos
Matching Common App to Naviance
Counselor Letter of Rec. Process
Requesting a Teacher Letter of Rec.