For Parents/Guardians: Checklist for Back to School

As a parent or guardian, a new school year can be a wild time. Especially if college planning is on your mind. Financial aid, building a college list, all the deadlines to remember...

With Scoir, we take the guesswork out for you!

Start the new school year off right with our top five things you can do in Scoir today to get ready for back to school. 🌟

In this article, we cover:

• What is Scoir?
• 5 Back to School Scoir To-Dos for Parents/Guardians
   
  1. Create your account and link to your student
  2. Conduct your first college search
  3. Download the Scoir mobile app (and allow push notifications!)
  4. Sign up for the Scoir monthly newsletter
  5. Share these checklists with your student(s)

What is Scoir?

We're glad you asked!

Scoir helps high school students discover colleges, and helps parents and guardians support their students through the process.

We also help 6-12th graders discover careers that could be a good fit for them.

Your student's school and counselor may use Scoir, or you may have found us on your own. Either way, welcome!

5 Back to School Scoir To-Dos for Parents/Guardians

1. Create your account and link to your student

First things first, be sure to create your free Scoir account and link with your student. 🔗

Part of being involved in your student's college search and application process is getting involved—that's where your free Scoir account comes in! With an account, you can search for and suggest colleges to your student (which will them show on your students' College List in their Scoir account). You can also explore Events and #Posts from colleges, and much more!

Here are some other resources for first-time Scoir parents:

• How to Get Started on Scoir as a Parent or Guardian
• Scoir walkthrough videos for parents and guardians

2. Conduct your first college search

Help your student begin their search based on what they (and you) are looking for. Maybe that’s a major or academic program, campus size, and setting, or extracurriculars.

Be sure to let your student know about the College Match Quiz. This will help them start building their list on their own.

Then, you can suggest colleges to your student with Scoir.

You can also explore potential careers with your student on Scoir, or evaluate their career assessment results together.

3. Download the Scoir mobile app (and allow push notifications!)

Take your college and career search on the road. With the Scoir mobile app, you can access Scoir from anywhere, right on your phone. 

To download our app, head to the Apple App Store on your mobile device. Then, you can sign in using your Scoir username and password.

4. Sign up for the Scoir monthly newsletter

With our family email newsletter, called the ✨ Study Hall Scoop ✨, you can get monthly insights about what is going on throughout the college application process, links to blog posts and podcast episodes for the whole family, opportunities to sign up for upcoming educational events, and more. Subscribe today!

5. Share these checklists with your student(s)

Want to help guide your student this Back to School? Share these checklists with activities for each month of the school year to ensure your student is on track.

• College Planning Checklist for 11th Graders
• College Planning Checklist for 12th Graders

For parents/guardians with 9th and 10th graders, it's never too early to start! We have checklists for your students as well:

• 9th Grade Checklist
• 10th Grade Checklist
  

We also have a resource called The Student Guide to College Planning with high-level college planning to-dos and tips for students throughout their high school journey.

And there you have it! These are the top five things you can do in Scoir today to make for a great start to the school year. If you’d like to learn more about Scoir and how we can help you, check out our guide for parents and guardians. 

This article was originally published on August 22, 2023. It was updated on July 25, 2025 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.