Sam Bernstein staff writer
 
College is important. Success with grades, extracurricular activities and sports will always help prospective students further their education. Some students care quite a bit about getting into top schools like Ivy Leagues; however with no backup options to these top schools, students end up hurting themselves in the long run. Students can avoid this predicament. At Beverly, we’re lucky to have access to a program called Naviance.  
Some seniors don’t use Naviance because they are simply ignorant to its purpose. On Naviance, students can research nearly every school in the country. You can sort these schools by literally any category or rating you can think of. You can find schools that a large majority of your peers and teachers haven’t heard of. You may even research schools our college counsellor have never heard of. However, this tool is under utilized. Beverly seniors need Naviance.
Some seniors go ahead and do their own research like this anonymous senior.
“You don’t apply to college through it so what’s the point. If you already have your list of colleges, then you can do your research on those colleges separately,” an anonymous senior said.
On Naviance, there are links to college application sites. Naviance also gives you extra tools that aid your application experience. However, some seniors have found other useful tools that they’d use instead of Naviance.
“I don’t really use Naviance. I use Big Feature instead,” senior Austin Fuhrman said.
Regardless of the countless persuasive speeches from former and current college counselors Ah Young Chi and Casey Rowley, many members of the Norman Nation continue to pose reasons and excuses for their undermining of this genuinely useful website.
“I only needed it for counsellor recommendations, I only did it because I had to,” senior Brandon Lee said.
Naviance is a great tool. There are many uses for it. One tool that is particularly handy was their college compare tool. You can compare your scores with your favorite schools to help you figure out where your best chances of getting in are. Some seniors recognize this tool, like this anonymous senior.
“It’s great for college applications, and it helps assist you in choosing your right choice for life,” an anonymous senior said.
The feature that is most relevant and helpful is the SuperMatch college search, which helps students find schools they may not have had on their radar. The SuperMatch tool helps you narrow schools down by cost, minimum scores, sports teams, religious affiliation and more. It even takes into account if schools are in conservative or liberal areas. Naviance has other tools, like the college acceptance tab. It lets you see where Beverly alumni applied to and were accepted to.
Yet another major quirk on Naviance is their deep scholarship database. You can find virtually any type of scholarship through their scholarship match tab. You can also use the scholarship list to find specific ones you’re looking for and scholarship applications to keep track of the scholarships you’ve applied for.
Naviance is an incredible resource and a major help to anyone making one of the biggest decisions of their life. Seniors should absolutely recognize this.