College Search Tools

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College Research and Planning Resources

Your college research journey is unique to you. Take advantage of these free resources to make informed decisions about your future. The time you invest now in thorough research will pay dividends when it's time to make your final college choice.

Getting Started with Naviance

Naviance is your primary platform for college exploration and application management. This comprehensive tool helps you research colleges, track your progress, and make informed decisions about your future.

How to Access Naviance

Getting into Naviance is simple and doesn't require any additional passwords:

  1. Log into your student portal (Austin ISD Student Portal)

  2. Click on Naviance from your dashboard

  3. Select Naviance and use Google to log in via CLEVER

  4. You're in! No separate account needed

Essential College Exploration Tools

Naviance offers three powerful research tools that work together to give you a complete picture of your college options:

College Match

This intelligent tool suggests colleges based on your academic profile and historical data from your school. It analyzes your GPA, test scores, and how past students with similar profiles have performed at different colleges.

Key Benefits:

  • Helps you understand likely, match, and reach colleges

  • Provides a foundation for building a balanced college list

  • Uses real data from students at your school

College SuperMatch™

Think of this as your personalized college search engine. You can filter colleges based on what matters most to you:

  • Location preferences

  • School size

  • Available majors

  • Campus setting

  • Cost considerations

  • And much more

The more specific your preferences, the better your results will be. SuperMatch also allows you to compare schools side-by-side and discover colleges you might not have considered.

Scattergrams

These visual tools show you exactly how past students from your school performed when applying to specific colleges. Each dot represents one student:

  • Green dots = accepted

  • Yellow dots = waitlisted

  • Red dots = denied

Important Note: Scattergram data is incomplete because not all students update their college decisions in Naviance. Use these as general trend indicators, not guarantees of your outcomes.

Organizing Your Research

"Colleges I'm Thinking About" List

Use the favorite icon (⭐) to save colleges to your personal list. This doesn't mean you're applying—it's simply your research organizer. Build this list throughout your exploration process so everything is in one place when application time arrives.

College Visits

Juniors and Seniors can sign up through Naviance for in-person college visits hosted at your school. College representatives visit campus regularly, giving you face-to-face opportunities to learn more. The list of schools visiting is always changing, check Naviance regularly for new opportunities.

Beyond Naviance: Additional Resources

While Naviance is your primary hub, several other free platforms can enhance your college research:

BigFuture & College Board

Since College Board already has your test scores, make the most of your account:

  • Excellent scholarship search tools to find money for college

  • Comprehensive college information and comparison features

  • Financial aid resources and calculators

Free College Admissions Workshops

BigFuture partners with Schoolhouse.world to offer free interactive workshops. These 4-week sessions meet twice weekly and cover:

  • Building your college list

  • Writing compelling essays

  • Understanding financial aid

  • Application strategies

My Texas Future

Perfect for students interested in Texas opportunities:

  • Career exploration tools

  • Texas-specific college information

  • Scholarship opportunities

Pro Tip: Create your account with a personal email address—school email addresses may block communications from this platform.

Common App Practice Account

Families can set up practice accounts to start early discussions:

  • Enter profile information

  • Explore participating colleges

  • Familiarize yourself with the application process

Remember: Applications cannot be submitted until after August 1st of your senior year, as both Common App and Naviance reset annually.