POULSBO — Filling out and filing 11-plus pages of information, dating back from one’s junior high curriculum all the way through graduation GPA and SAT scores, the college application process is a task.

After that initial step comes the process of seeking letters of recommendation, applying for scholarships, grants and financial aid while keeping in mind the deadlines for each.

Such an undertaking is in store for North Kitsap High School seniors this year who plan to attend two-year colleges or four-year universities next fall.

The process begins now.

“One thing that sometimes both parents and kids are surprised by is it is a lot of work,” said NKHS counselor Debbie Gurrad. “You really need to pay attention to it, engage it and track what you are doing while paying attention to deadlines and getting everything in that needs to be in.”

Gurrad and North’s counseling staff have already met with incoming seniors who plan to continue onto college in 2007. At 7 p.m., Oct. 10 in the NKHS commons, the staff will meet with those seniors and their parents to delve into the application process for public and private schools.

“People need to know that they are not going through this alone,” Gurrad said. “My job is to help you through this process, and any help that you need, any questions that you have, you come and see me. That’s what I tell my students, and that’s the message that we want to get across to the parents.”

The senior/parent college information night will include a presentation of a general overview of the entire application process from filling out and filing the application to collecting letters of recommendation and applying for financial aid.

NKHS’ counseling staff and career center specialist Paula Patterson will be on hand at the event to answer questions that parents or students may have.

“For a parent of a first-time senior, there are a lot of questions,” Patterson said. “So we’ll help them be able to get answers, and find out where to go as they go through the year and have more questions.”

Whether parents are readying to send their first child off to college or their fifth, the college admissions process is evolving.

“It’s been changing quite a bit in the past few years,” Gurrad said, noting that many colleges and universities are now encouraging online applications, moving toward a possible future of paperless application, therefore the NKHS counselors are also encouraging their students to apply online.

Gurrad also said many institutions are also looking at students more holistically, as compared to the past when they would rely on grade point averages and standardized test numbers.

Online applications are much to the student’s advantage, Gurrad said, while the latter could create more work for seniors to complete before their upcoming deadlines throughout the year.