My College Spreadsheet

I used a single spreadsheet to keep track of all my college applications throughout high school. It is very customizable; for example, if you did not take community college classes, you could delete the column about community college transcripts.

The spreadsheet is turned so that there are more columns than rows; this is intentional, so that you can see all of your colleges and their statuses close together, rather than all of them being their separate column. This bunching lets you easily share your college list and application statuses with your family and friends. One screenshot can capture all the necessary information without revealing the rest of the sheet. Additionally, bunching information such as dates applications are due together in one column lets you swiftly compare dates and prioritize deadlines. I recommend sorting the sheet by the earliest application due, and setting yourself deadlines for rolling admission schools.

Some other data columns include Application portal links, where you should immediately place the application link to the schools you apply to, after they forward them to your inbox. They should arrive a few days after you apply. I also saved my usernames into the spreadsheet if they were particularly long or unusual. I recall UCLA needing four different parameters, like username, UC application number, etc. so having all of that information in a note on the sheet was really helpful.

If you are in the college search phase, it may be worth it to move or hide the columns about applications and financial aid, and place in the front the general information about each college, like location, rankings, and more.

I hope you find this as a useful resource in your college journey! Feel free to make a copy and make it your own! Here is a link to the spreadsheet in Google Sheets.