Naviance is one of the most valuable — and most underutilized — tools available to high school students planning college applications. Here is how to use it effectively.
What Naviance Is
Naviance is a college planning and career readiness platform that many high schools subscribe to. Its most valuable feature for college planning is its integration of historical admissions data: it shows you what happened to students from your specific high school who applied to each college — who was admitted, who was waitlisted, and who was denied — along with their GPA and test score information. This creates school-specific scattergrams that are far more relevant than national averages.
How to Use Scattergrams
Find a college in Naviance's search, navigate to the admissions tab, and view the scattergram. Each dot represents a student from your school who applied: green dots are admitted students, yellow are waitlisted, and red are denied. Your current GPA and test scores are shown as a star. Visually, you can see where you fall relative to historically successful applicants from your exact school context — which adjusts for your school's grading scale and profile.
What Naviance's Limitations Are
Small sample sizes are the main limitation. If your school has sent 5–10 applicants to a highly selective school over the past several years, the scattergram pattern may not be statistically reliable. Also, Naviance data may include applicants who were admitted as recruited athletes or legacy students — whose profiles are not directly comparable to yours. Use scattergrams as a starting point, not a definitive answer.
Other Naviance Features
Beyond scattergrams: Naviance integrates with Common App to manage recommendation letter requests and track application completion. Many schools use it to communicate college planning milestones and deadlines. Your counselor likely uses Naviance to track your application status.