In a move to transfer the process online, Richardson ISD has adopted a new system for college applications. Naviance, which was created in 2002, was created to provide students with college planning and career assessment tools for more successful college applications.
In the past, students used the Common Application to both apply to college and attach important documents, like recommendation letters. Now, students will have to upload those documents to Naviance then send them alongside the Common Application.
As a completely new software for seniors, Naviance has faced criticism as some students say it makes things more complicated.
“Naviance makes what was previously a relatively simple process into a more difficult one,” senior Kathan Trivedi said. “To make it even worse, we students haven’t gotten time to be familiar with it the year before, and we are having to deal with the bugs of a completely new system just weeks before many college apps are due.”
In addition, Naviance charges $2 per transcript sent to colleges, despite it being a completely digital system.
Some are more optimistic about Naviance. College guidance counselor Jaslyn Greene is hopeful about its long-term benefits.
“There are many tools in Naviance, such as student personality surveys, phone alerts for planning things such as standardized testing, and many more, which will help students make informed decisions about their college choices,” Greene said.
According to the Naviance Web site, college enrollment rates have increased by an average of 9% because it offers a closer interaction between counselors and students.
However, Greene does acknowledge that Naviance presents numerous challenges.
“There has been an initial delay in getting all teachers to use Naviance,” Greene said. “Most of the problems we initially had with Naviance have been ironed out.”
Student guidance counselor Margaret O’Connor also notes the potential benefits of Naviance.
“You basically have the ability to submit many important student documents at the click of a button,” O’Connor said. “You don’t worry about losing anything, or not having stamps to mail in transcripts.”
Naviance also covers much more of the colleges in the United States than the Common Application.
“This will encourage more students to apply to colleges, since they have more options to choose from,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor also points out that it’s easier for counselors to fill in counselor documents online than by hand.
“Some of the problems may have been ironed out by now” Trivedi said. “But I do wish they had corrected the systems’ issues earlier”.