Now that you have built your college list, planned your trip to campus and visited schools, here are nine tips that can help you plan for your final year of high school.
Continue to visit schools through the summer
In many cases, it’s easier to visit schools during the summer months than when you are back at school full time.
Start to narrow and finalize your college list
Review information from your school visits (remember your notebook?) and start to narrow down your list of schools, if necessary.
Be mindful of your course selections for senior year
Colleges will know your senior year course selections early on — from your transcript — and will, later in the year, request and receive updates on your senior year coursework and grades. They expect you to finish strong, both in terms of course selection and grades. Don’t let up!
Plan to maintain your extracurricular activities
From your admissions application, colleges will know your extracurricular activities through high school, including senior year. They don’t expect, or want, you to pad your extracurricular schedule, but they don’t want to see a significant decrease in activity, either.
Sign up for standardized tests
Make sure to sign up for the SAT, ACT or both as required by any of your selected colleges.
Meet with your college counselor early and often
Your college counselor can provide a wealth of information, having gone through this process with hundreds — if not thousands — of students. She or he also will be an important partner in helping you complete your college applications by providing counselor recommendations, transcripts and a copy of your school profile.
Think about who you will ask to write teacher recommendations for you
Most colleges who ask for teacher recommendations will require one or two from someone who has taught you in an academic subject since ninth grade.
Start thinking about possible topics for your college admissions essay
To get started on this, see the common application essay prompts for 2016-17.
Make a calendar
Make and use a calendar to keep track of important admissions, financial aid and scholarship deadlines. It’s quite likely that you may apply to at least three, and perhaps more than seven, colleges, so you’ll need a way to keep track of all of these dates and deadlines.
Scott Steinberg is the dean of University Admissions at the University of New England, with responsibility for undergraduate and graduate admissions. He has held admissions leadership positions at Bates College, Bowdoin College and the University of Southern Maine. He earned his M.B.A. from Columbia University, Graduate School of Business, and a B.A. in mathematics and music from Bates College.