High School Seniors: Application Jump Start
Congratulations, families of high school seniors! It probably feels like just yesterday you were buckling them into car seats, and now you’re preparing for college selection. Time flies, but we’re here to help guide you through these important next steps. Our mission is simple: to provide you with straightforward, actionable insights for senior year. We’re here to help you support your student without becoming a helicopter parent or getting lost in endless details. In this issue, we’re sharing a checklist to focus on in September to keep your student on track for success.
We know that many students are just beginning the college application process. If your student is one of them, don’t worry! It is not too late. We suggest that you start by reading our Summer Application Series first.These posts will give you a good idea of what your student will be working on through the fall. Our fall-focused posts presume that families have read the Summer Series and we therefore don’t repeat that information. The Summer Application series posts include:
Do You Need to Hire a College Admissions Consultant?
Letters of Recommendation and Counselor Reports
Supplemental Essays and Non-Common App Essays
Using and Understanding Net Price Calculators
As your student gets their senior sea legs under them, they might want to take some time to make sure that a few action items are in the works. These are good tasks for students to check off of the to do list early in the school year because they require the work and assistance of teachers and counselors, and students should give them as much lead time as possible.
September To-Do List
Open Common App account
Ask two teachers for Letters of Recommendation
Contact school counselor and ask for a School Report
Some students might decide that they should take (or re-take) the SAT or ACT before application deadlines hit. If your student is in that situation, they should sign up for a test date as soon as possible.
Get organized! Applying to college is a process. If your student doesn’t have a tracking system (i.e. a spreadsheet), download a copy of ours here and share it with your student. They can use it as is or modify it to best suit their needs.
Once these things are checked off the list, your student can work on their Common App - see links above for more guidance on the sections. Even if your student has drafts of these, they are likely to be focusing on refining and polishing these portions of their applications as they move through the fall.
The earliest deadlines start to hit in late October. Stay tuned here - we are here with you for the journey!
