Category: College Admissions

College Applications Timeline and Tips

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September

Application:

• Decide whether you intend to apply Early Decision I or II (ED1 or ED2), Early Action (EA) or Regular Decision (RD) to each of the schools on our list. Deadlines can vary somewhat by school, but ED and EA applications typically are due by November 1st. RD applications often are due by January 1st.

• You can apply ED to only one school because an ED application creates a binding agreement between you and the college that accepts you. If you are rejected by your ED1 school, you can apply to another school ED2.

• Determine whether the colleges to which you are applying use the Common Application. Many do, but some use the Coalition Application or Universal College Application instead. Others only use their own application forms. Complete all required information on the application forms.

Recommendation Letters:

 • Follow up with the two teachers who you asked to write letters for you last spring. Check with the schools to which you are applying and determine if you need any others. Officially invite those teachers to write their letters for you through Naviance, not Common App.

Essays:

 • Complete your Common Application essay as soon as possible. Schedule a meeting with a teacher or tutor to review the essay now, before you submit it to any school!

Supplemental Essays:

 • Some colleges require you to complete supplemental essays (in addition to the Common Application essay). Supplemental essays are specific to each college that requires them. Consult each college’s application (available on the Common App website) for specific question prompts.

Interviews: 

• Some colleges do not conduct interviews. Others use alumni to conduct interviews for them at places like Starbucks. Please check with the colleges of your choice to determine what they offer regarding interviews. Never pass up the opportunity to interview.

Transcripts: 

• You must request your high school to send your official transcript to the colleges of your choice. The transcript request form can usually be found in the guidance office. 

SAT and ACT Scores:

• Send your SAT and/or ACT test scores to the colleges of your choice as soon as possible. You must request and pay for these online. Send your SAT scores through collegeboard.org. Send your ACT scores through act.org. Your high school does not send scores. Legally, you must do this yourself.

October

Get it Done:

 • Finish doing everything you did not finish doing last month!

Financial Aid:

 • If you intend to apply for financial aid, both you and your parents/guardians need to obtain a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) ID. Visit fafsa.ed.gov/ to get your FAFSA ID now.

• The 2019-2020 FAFSA form went live on October 1, 2019. If you intend to apply for financial aid, you must complete and submit a FAFSA form. Visit fasa.ed.gov/ to complete and submit your FAFSA form. It can be submitted anytime on or after October 1, 2019.

College Representative Visits:

• Check with your school’s college advising office to get the schedule of college representative visits for October.

November

Get it Done: 

• Finish doing everything you did not finish doing last month!

Application:

 • Submit your ED and EA applications! They are often due November 1st

.• Pay the application fees required by the schools to which you are applying. Payment can typically be made online with a credit card. Fee waivers may be available in the case of financial hardship.

First Quarter Grades/Transcripts:

• Most high schools will automatically send your first quarter senior grades to the colleges listed on the transcript request forms you submitted prior to November 1st. Check with your school to be sure.

December

Get it Done:

 • Finish doing everything you did not finish doing last month!

Notification:

• Some colleges begin to notify ED and EA applicants by early December as to whether they have been accepted, rejected, wait listed, or deferred to the RD pool.

January

Get it Done:

 • Finish doing everything you did not finish doing last month!

Application:

• The deadline for RD applications is often January 1st or January 15th at many colleges. Check to confirm your deadlines!

Mid-Year Grades/Transcripts:

• Check to see if your high school automatically sends these to the colleges of your choice. If not, you must make this request in writing using a transcript request form.

February

Relax! 

• By now, you should have completed the college application process.

Keep up with classes:

• Colleges look at ALL of your senior year grades!

March

Notification: 

• Most colleges will notify RD applicants as to whether they have been accepted, rejected, or wait listed in March.

Keep up with classes:

• Colleges look at ALL of your senior year grades!

April

Keep up with classes:

• Colleges look at ALL of your senior year grades!

May

Decision Time:

 • Most colleges require you to send an enrollment deposit to secure your place at the school by May 1.

Mind Your Manners:

• Promptly notify the colleges you have decided not to attend by email. This is a very important courtesy for those on the waitlist at those schools.

Keep up with classes:

• Colleges look at ALL of your senior year grades!

June

Final Grades/Transcripts:

 • You must request your high school to submit your final transcripts to the college you have decided to attend. Please note: this likely will NOT be done automatically and your college will NOT allow you to register for classes without an official transcript verifying your graduation!

5 Steps for Writing an Amazing College Admissions Essay

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1. Brainstorm ideas

Look, I get it!  It’s almost summer break and the LAST thing that you want to be thinking about is your college admissions essay…but you have to!  Unfortunately, it isn’t just going to write itself. I can remember being a high school junior (way back in the dark ages) and thinking that I had nothing interesting about which to write.  But that wasn’t necessarily true. Maybe you’ve never lived through a life or death experience, accomplished anything awe inspiring or had to overcome any particularly cumbersome obstacles, but you certainly have life experiences that can be profoundly interesting and unique.  And besides, it is not so much about what happened, as it is about how you tell that story! So relax, take a deep breath, and make a list of possible essay topics. Take some time to really think about whether or not this idea is something by which you are really inspired.

2. Put your best foot forward

Remember, this essay is a chance for you to showcase information about yourself that is NOT found elsewhere in your application.  Resist the temptation to write about anything that might paint you in a less than flattering light. Your essay should give the admissions officers insight as to who you are as a person, what is unique about you, and what makes you stand out from a crowd.  It is a chance to show how much you’ve grown as a person and how the lessons that you’ve learned will make you a better citizen of the world. Don’t squander the opportunity to show not only how well you can write, but also how amazing you are already!

3. Start with a hook

Teachers and writers alike love to say “Show rather than tell” and it’s almost always met with a collective eye roll by students.  Yes, your writing needs to be active, engaging, and exciting. However, if the reader never makes it past the first few sentences because they are so bored, the rest of the essay doesn’t matter.  Your college admissions essay is supposed to put your best foot forward. The way to do that is to make the reader CARE about your story. A good hook will accomplish just that. It will leave the admissions officer curious to find out what happened to you last summer, why that coach was so influential, and what was so inspiring about your part time summer job.  So spend some time working on different introductions to your essay. And remember, the best writers write frequently, revise, write again, and revise again. It really is a process. Enjoy it!

4. Drafts!

We all like to think that we are the next J.K. Rowling and that we can just blast off an amazing essay in one sitting, but nothing is actually further from the truth.  Neil Gaiman said, “Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: It’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.”  Give yourself plenty of time and get comfortable, play some music in the background if that helps you (I do that). One day you may be inspired and the words will flow quite naturally and another day the piece of paper will win.  Whatever you do, remember that you will need to make multiple revisions to your draft before it is ready for submission. Take time away from your essay, and come back with fresh eyes. Share it with a friend to get their thoughts, and if you are really stuck ask a teacher or tutor for help.  

5. Proofread!

Nothing irks college admissions officers and teachers more than reading an essay that doesn’t look polished.  Before submitting your essay make sure that your grammar and punctuation are perfect. Please no dangling modifiers or comma splices!  Ask yourself if you’ve used adequate vocabulary. Your essay should not sound like every other word came from a thesaurus, but it shouldn’t sound elementary either.  It should read like the essay of an intelligent, thoughtful, interesting and creative young adult!