The College Application Process Timeline

Freshmen Year

• Take your classes seriously! Even though college might seem far away, it will come before you know it and your grades will matter.
• Get to know your teachers. Take an interest in them and learn from them.
• Select some activities to be involved in throughout high school. Good options include sports, music ensembles, dramas, and class council. Talk to your parents and your Dean to help you determine the best fit. Colleges generally look for a sustained commitment to a few extracurricular activities rather than minimal commitment to many activities.
• When you can, go on college visits with an older sibling, cousin, or friend.
• Stay organized.

Sophomore Year

• Take the PSAT/NMSQT in the Fall. Signup takes place in the College & Career Office in early September. This would be an opportunity to practice taking the PSAT to prepare for taking it in your junior year when it is a qualifying test for National Merit.
• Look into additional extracurricular activities.
• Maintain strong study habits in preparation for junior year.
• Use techniques learned in Leadership Launch to continue college and career research.
• Consider volunteer, internship, job-shadowing, or employment opportunities for the summer. See the College and Career Counselor for help if needed.

Junior Year

• Take the PSAT/NMSQT in the Fall. Signup takes place in the College & Career Office in September.

• Register for and take the SAT and/or ACT. Register on-line at www.collegeboard.com for the SAT and www.actstudent.com, or pick up a registration packet with a practice booklet in the College & Career Office. Students typically find that they do better if they wait until they have completed (or are near completion) of the 11th grade English and math courses.

• Research college options and their entrance requirements. Good resources are www.collegeboard.com and www.petersons.com for college search options. Try to develop a preliminary list of about 15 colleges which interest you and call or email to request information from them. If you have a specific major in mind, you may want to consider looking only at schools with that major.

• Visit some of the schools that you're most interested in. If you're unsure about the type of environment you'd like to be in, it is advisable to visit different types of schools (small private school, state university, Christian college.) so that you get a feel for the differences. Understanding the differences will help you compare and contrast thoroughly.

• During second semester, you will be scheduled for a meeting with the College & Career Counselor to discuss individual options, learn about resources available, and ask any questions you have about the college application process. Meetings are allotted a period of one block, to which parents are invited via a letter.

• Begin to think about who you might ask for a recommendation.

Summer

• Continue to research and narrow your college pool. As you slim down your list, keep in mind that 6-9 schools is a good number to aim for. Applying to fewer may limit your options, while applying to more may mean that you spend less time on each application, resulting in a lower quality.

• Take an SAT prep class if you want to improve your scores (click here for Test Preparation).

• Acquaint yourself with the Common Application (www.commonapp.org) as well as regular applications available on each college's website. If you're considering using the common application, read the instructions very carefully. Failure to do so will result in much more work! Please note that the common application saves time for multiple schools, but may take more time if you use it to apply to only one school.

• Continue visiting schools as possible - seeing a college in person gives you a much better overall impression. Refer to the wealth of resources given to you by the College & Career Counselor during your junior meeting.

• Investigate Early Decision and/or Early Action application procedures and policies. If you plan on using one of these strategies, you need to begin working on your application over the summer. Contact the College & Career Counselor.

• Use the summer to begin to craft an essay. Take a look at one of the schools that you're considering. Go to their webpage, then go to the admissions section, then download the paper version of their application. Usually the essay is near the end. Although the essay might change as the next year's applications become available, and although different colleges will have their own essays, it's a good idea to start thinking about this process.

Senior Year - September

• The September ACT date is a good test to take if you are planning on taking the ACT this year

• Know your application deadlines. It is your responsibility to meet the deadlines. Make a chart with the deadlines and requirements of each school and post it on your refrigerator.

• Begin filling out applications either online or with paper applications. Use the Common Application for schools that accept it - it is a little more work; however, you can copy your application and send it to any schools to which you apply who accept the common app.

Senior Year - October

• The October SAT date is a good test to take if you are planning on taking the SAT this year.

• Continue working on applications.

• Request transcripts and recommendations - you must allow a minimum of two weeks for recommendations and transcripts - use forms available in the College & Career Office.

• Early Decision applicants - watch your deadlines and remember the 2-week requirement for supporting documents.

Senior Year - November/December

• Retake the SAT if you have done more prep work and want to improve your scores. Colleges will often accept these scores as well. You may fill in college codes when you register to send scores directly to them.

• Keep up your grades, as colleges look at mid-year reports and end-of-year transcripts and reserve the right to withdraw their acceptance if your grades go down, or if you drop classes that they think you're going to take.

• Colleges will find your SAT scores in one of two places: on the back of your EC transcript (if you listed our high school code of 311-110 on your registration), and directly from the College Board per your request. Find out how your college accepts scores – requesting scores from the College Board after you've tested involves a fee.

• Send out all applications before Christmas vacation!!

Senior Year - January

• Attend the Financial Aid Seminar with your parents.

• Complete the FAFSA (click here for the financial aid procedures) and also the CSS Profile if required by your colleges.

• Review financial aid procedures here, and make sure you're paying attention to each college's procedures, requirements, and deadlines.

Senior Year – February to June

• Notify the College & Career Office of acceptance status from your colleges.

• Bring in award letters from all colleges so we can acknowledge this information on the graduation program - nothing will be printed without copies for confirmation of all awards and scholarships.

• Decide where you will attend, send in your acceptance and deposit, and notify all other schools where you have been accepted that you have decided to go elsewhere. The deadline for accepting an acceptance is generally May 1st.