College Prep: Summer To-Do List
Are you a rising junior or senior? Then it’s time to be thinking about COLLEGE. I know it still seems like that phase of your life is far away, but it will be here before you know it. With all the busyness of junior and senior years of high school, it’s important to spend time focusing on and preparing for college NOW. Below, we’ve laid out the perfect college prep summer plan for rising juniors and seniors. Even if you haven’t spent any time working on college prep yet, this is the perfect time to start!
College will no doubt be an exciting, important phase of your life. You’ll get a degree in a field that you’re passionate about, make lifelong friends, and get your future all planned out. However, preparing for the transition to college can be time consuming and much less exciting.
After all, there are a lot of things that need to be accomplished before you can head off to college. You need to take college admissions tests, write application essays, apply and get accepted to schools, and more. Planning for the leap to college is not something that you want to save for last minute. For how stressful this process can already be for some students and families, waiting until fall of senior year to start any of it will just increase the anxiety levels all around.
That’s why we’ve laid out the step-by-step process below, focusing on the pieces that students can focus on during the SUMMER. The summer months tend to be much more laid back for students, as they aren’t worried about school courses and AP exams. Rather, they’re (at least a little) more relaxed and have some time that they can devote to something important, like college prep.
The Perfect College Prep Timeline for SUMMER
Summer before Junior Year
Take the ACT or SAT - If you haven’t taken either exam yet, this is the perfect time to start your test prep. If you’ve taken the test and want to improve your score, this is the perfect time to devote to test prep, too! Students who prepare for the ACT and SAT in the summer tend to see faster improvement with their scores simply because they’re able to focus on test prep and aren’t distracted with other school coursework. Consider taking an online test prep course, buying a book and working on your test prep independently, or hiring a tutoring to work with one-on-one. There are ACT exams every June, July, and September. Planning on taking one of these tests is a great idea before you’re consumed with schoolwork again come the fall.
Create Initial List of Colleges - Maybe you already have a short list of colleges in the back of your head that you would love to attend. Maybe you haven’t thought of this at all yet. Either way, it’s a great time to start exploring. Consider some major factors that might impact what schools interest you. Do you want to go to a big school or a small school? Do you want to stay close to home or move farther away? Is there a certain area or field that you’re interested in studying or exploring more? You certainly DO NOT have to know what your #1 college is by the time you start your junior year — in fact, we DO NOT recommend having this mindset at all. Keep your mind open to new opportunities as you explore.
College Visits - Once you have some ideas about what schools might interest you, it’s time to SEE them! If it won’t be too much work to set up an actual in-person visit with a tour guide, we highly recommend taking that path. What you gain from this type of visit and tour is an opportunity to ask your own questions and see the actual campus and actual students and get a vibe for the overall mood. COVID has pushed many colleges to create virtual tours as well, which have been incredibly helpful during a pandemic. Students were still able to actually get a feel for the schools without having to be there. This can also be useful if a school you are considering is far away or it would be difficult to find a time to go for an in-person visit. However, it’s important to note that with the virtual tour you will only see what the college wants you to see. You won’t be able to get a completely authentic feel of the student body or campus or surrounding community. That’s simply something you can only get by going and seeing the college in person.
Add in Another Extracurricular - This is often an overlooked aspect of college applications. However, colleges really do want to see how involved you are in your school and your community. After all, they want to admit students that are going to be active members on their campus as well. Take a hard look at your activities resume and ask yourself if your application would look better if you added another activity or extracurricular to the list. Perhaps you’ve been considering trying out for a new club or volunteering at a local business. Now would be a great time to do that!
College Prep Tip #1: Don’t worry if you’re behind! Starting today is still better than starting tomorrow. Dive in!
Summer Before Senior Year
Take the ACT or SAT - Many students can benefit from using the last summer before senior year to prepare for one or two last ACT or SAT tests before college application deadlines. If you’ve taken the ACT or SAT before and know that an increased score could better your chances of getting accepted to your top schools or that it could lead to more scholarship money, it’s totally worth trying again!
Narrow Down List of Colleges - Remember that vague list of colleges that you started making? Now is the time to really narrow it down. Remember that most colleges have application fees — that means it costs MONEY to even apply to them. Some students feel the need to apply to 20+ colleges, but we think it’s wiser to narrow down your list to a reasonable number of schools, some of which are more reasonable and others that are reach schools. Really reflect on your own values and goals with college. Do the schools on your list reflect these? Can you see yourself being a part of the community at the schools on your list? If you haven’t yet, this is a great time to go see some of the schools in person if you are able.
Start the Common App - The Common App is a process that allows you to apply to multiple schools without having to complete a totally separate application for each one. The Common App lets you identify the colleges on your list and compile all of the information you’ll need to send off to them in one organized place. While all parts of individual colleges’ applications might not be available yet, you can certainly start the Common App process. Get your account set up, make a list of all the things you’ll need to gather, and fill out any of the pieces that you can do right now. You’ll be super happy with yourself later for taking these proactive steps.
Start the Scholarship Hunt - This might come as a surprise to you (probably not), but college is EXPENSIVE! Here in the U.S., the student debt crisis has affected so many young people. Imagine if there was a way to help future you not be in so much stressful debt. Surprise - that’s where scholarships come into play. You right now can help future you’s financials by finding and applying to as many scholarships as possible. Oftentimes, the difficult part of this process is FINDING the scholarships. That’s why starting EARLY is going to be very smart. Consider three main areas when looking for scholarships - Local community, School-specific, and national. Not surprisingly, national scholarships are going to be the most competitive of these types. That’s why it’s a great idea to start with your community - the businesses in your community, your high school, etc. There are probably a lot more opportunities around than you would imagine. From there, focus on the actual schools that you’re apply to. Many will have specific scholarships for prospective students - some that you’ll automatically be considered for but others that you have to apply for.
College Prep #2: There are TONS of scholarships out there. The hardest part is taking the time to search for them. Focus on SPECIFIC types of scholarships as much as possible. For example, if you play tennis, look for scholarships for tennis players. This will help keep you from running into tons of scholarships that you wouldn’t qualify for.
While this may seem like a long list of tasks that need to be completed, we promise you’ll find it much more feasible to start working on these steps earlier instead of waiting until last minute. Don’t worry if you don’t end up having time to complete all of the steps this summer. Focus on getting as much of a head start as possible. You’ll thank yourself later!
Looking for College Counseling help? We’d be happy to help you come up with your perfect list of schools that are a great fit for you, navigate the Common App, and write powerful application essays. Reach out about College Counseling by filling out our New Student Inquiry Form.
Good luck, and happy studying!
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