LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's college application season.

The Common App, a website connecting applicants to colleges and universities all over the U.S., began accepting applications Tuesday, and the University of Louisville also opened its application portal for the fall 2024 semester Tuesday.

The application process can be intimidating for students and parents, so Jenny Sawyer, associate provost and executive director of admissions at UofL, joined WDRB Mornings on Friday with some tips. 

Sawyer said the main thing she recommends is to make preparing for college a top priority during the senior year in high school.

"Make sure that you visit schools, decide what schools you want to apply on, meet deadlines, track your materials, make sure everything's moving smoothly," she said.

Sawyer said many schools are now test optional or test blind. For UofL's application process, applicants can apply online. No essays or letters of recommendation are required, and ACT/SAT scores are optional. So what students do inside and outside the classroom during their high school years can have an impact on the application process. 

"Stay focused," Sawyer said. "Do things that matter. Stay on top of your classes. Get good grades. Choose rigorous courses." 

Sawyer said that it's not a bad idea to get an early start. 

"The advantage of applying early gives you is schools know that you're interested in them," she said. "You're more likely to know about special programs and opportunities. You'll have more time to explore. Particularly, you do not want to miss out on financial aid or scholarship opportunities. ... Students who wait until our deadlines often miss out on some of our opportunities that we have. So we may have special programs or scholarships that have deadlines in the fall semester. So those students, although they can still come to the University of Louisville, they miss out on some of those opportunities."

Now that test scores have less of an impact on the application process, Sawyer said UofL is looking at classroom performance. 

"As a state public university, we are looking very closely, primarily, at grades," she said. "So test scores used to play a much larger part of the process, but now, really, about 50% of our decisions are made by reviewing a student's transcript: looking and seeing what was their pattern of grades, what courses did they choose to take, did they choose to take advanced placement — dual credit is huge — and looking to see if students are really pushing themselves so they'll be ready to be successful in a college classroom." 

Students are also encouraged to visit the campus in person.

"We do visits six days a week," Sawyer said. 

CLICK HERE to access UofL's application portal. 

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