SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR

The summer before Senior year has finally arrived and it’s time to get serious about college applications. Hopefully you have spent your junior year beginning the process of searching for colleges. This may involve sitting down with your high school guidance counselor, talking to parents and teachers, taking the PSAT and most importantly, maintaining your grades.

Senior year is no time to slack off. It is critical that you keep your grades up. You want to have a well-rounded set of extracurricular experience, but make sure your schedule is balanced. Grades are still the most important factor in college admissions.

​Below is a list of things you can do this Summer to be prepared to enter your Senior Year.

SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR

Start your list – This summer is a great time to work on your list of colleges. By the end of the summer, you should have narrowed your list of 20-25 schools down to 10 or 12, including reach, match and safety schools.

Common Application – Many colleges and universities use the Common Application, which can be found online. You can register a Common Application account and get familiar with it during the summer. Know what is required, sketch out an application timeline and begin thinking about your essay, a critical component of any application. Visit www.commonapp.org. 

College Essay- Begin to draft your college essays.  Looking at the CommonApp Essay Prompts is a good way to get started and organize your thoughts.  Click here to view the 2017-2018 CommonApp Essay Prompts.

ACT – You can usually begin taking the ACT in September. Go online to confirm testing dates and register now. This will give you time to take the test again if you’re not happy with your first score.

Campus visits – Before you’re loaded up with homework and extracurricular activities, us the idle months of summer to visit some of the campuses on your list. Almost any college will be conducting tours throughout the summer. 

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