College Application Resources
Common App Tips for SFUSD Students
Filling out the common app can be confusing, so here are some helpful tips:
Letter of Recommendation - To add a Recommender, navigate to the "My Colleges" section and select any of of the colleges in your Common App list. Go to "Recommenders and FERPA" section then "Invite Recommender.” Once you enter teacher's name email address, your teacher will receive an email with a link to upload their letter.
Senior class size - ask your counselor, or you can estimate by looking up your school’s total population and divide by four
Class Rank: If your transcript doesn’t show a rank, your school probably doesn’t have one (ask your counselor to be sure). SFUSD schools do NOT do class rank
Coursework: When filling out the coursework section (if a college you're applying to requires this; not all do), follow your high school transcript exactly. If your transcript shows letter grades, grading scale is "A-F".
Credits: In SFUSD, each class is 5 credits. If you took a dual enrollment class at a community college, it may be worth more credits than your high school classes when transferred to your HS transcript)
SFUSD (and most schools) is on the "semester" system. When entering your 1st and 2nd semester grades, enter the grade that shows on your high school transcript (even if your teacher gave you a B+ but your transcript shows a B, put the B.) Leave "final grade" blank. (For 1-semester classes, only enter a grade in 1st OR 2nd semester, and leae the other blank)
College List Template
Use this College List Template (Google Sheet) to keep track of the colleges you’re considering.
Writing College Essays
Check out these resources from The College Essay Guy
UC PIQs: How to Write Great UC Personal Insight Questions / Essays [CRASH COURSE]
Common App Personal Statement: How to Write an OUTSTANDING Personal Statement for College: A Crash Course
Supplemental Essays How to Combine Your College Essay Prompts (To Save 20+ Writing Hours)
Activity List Examples & Templates
(Common App & UC)
The Activity List is one of the most important pieces of the application - it showcases your skills, interests, and gives examples of how might contribute to campus. We recommend drafting your Activity List before completing essays so you’ll know what not to repeat in your essays. Also, ALL types of activities pursued outside the classroom count. In addition to listing sports, clubs, community service, jobs, you can also list dedicated hobbies, online courses, or taking care of a sibling. Rank your activities in order of importance which takes into account the relevance to your major or the size of your leadership role.
The Common App lets you list up to 10 activities (150 characters) and has a separate list for up to 5 awards/honors list (100 characters). The UC application lets you list up to 20 total activities or awards and gives you 350 characters. The “Additional Information Section” of the application can be used to dive into an extracurricular, list additional honors, or explain if a situation affected your academics or ability to participate in activities.
We created these Activity List templates for you to use. There is a Google sheet and doc version, though we prefer the sheet because it counts the # of characters for you!
UC/Common App Google Sheet Template (Use this! It counts characters for you!)
UC List - Google Doc Template (if you prefer typing in a doc vs a sheet)
Common App List - Google Doc Template