Preparing for college: To do’s for high school seniors this fall

It’s finally here — your senior year of high school! You’ve been preparing for this moment for years. It’s exciting, but it can be stressful to balance extracurricular activities, academics, and all the other things that get crowded into your last year. If you’re planning on going to college in the fall, this time can be particularly busy. In fact, most high school seniors worry about applying to college — but we can help. Here’s a list of some to do’s to check off before the end of the year and before senioritis kicks in.

Get organized

Start by creating a calendar of important dates. You can jot down application deadlines, admission meetings and financial aid deadlines. You could also add other events like college fairs, campus visits, accepted students’ day, and orientation once your first day of college gets closer. If you’re feeling really motivated, you could make a folder system on your laptop to keep all of your materials organized, or an Excel spreadsheet to track where you are in the process for each application you submit.

Another thing you could do is add reminders in your phone about these important dates and other things that you need to do. There’s a multitude of organization apps that you can download to keep all of these important items in one place.

Continue visiting college campuses or take a virtual tour

Now that you’ve thought about where you want to go to college, the next step is to visit the campus to see if it feels like a good fit for you. If you started visiting campuses your junior year, narrow your selection down to a couple of schools that you think would be a really great fit. If there are some schools at the top of your list that you haven’t visited yet, now’s the time to do it. Most colleges offer programs where you can be paired up with a current college student and spend the weekend in their dorm to really get a feel for campus life.

If you haven’t started visiting colleges yet or haven’t quite narrowed it down, consider starting with virtual visits — they can not only save you time, but money. You won’t have to worry about driving (or sometimes flying!) to the school, possibly paying for lodging, etc. Once you’ve done the virtual visits and can narrow it down to a couple of schools that you’re really serious about (or just those that you’re accepted to), then you can schedule an in-person visit.

Take (or retake) the ACT/SAT

The SAT and ACT are offered seven times per year, including in October, November and December. If you haven’t already taken one of these tests, you should look in your area to see where it’s being offered, so you can sign up. If you’ve already taken the test, you may want to consider taking it again in case you get a higher score. According to collegeboard.org, you should take the SATs twice — in the spring of junior year and the fall of senior year. At some schools, if your GPA meets the minimum requirements, you can opt out of submitting your standardized test scores. It’s important to confirm the current policy of testing requirements, either on the college’s website or by calling the admissions office.

Tests and requests for the college admissions process

It goes without saying that it’s important to check and confirm when college application deadlines are, but typically, early decision deadlines are in November, and regular decision deadlines are in January or February. Most college applications require a personal essay, letters of recommendation, official transcripts and SAT or ACT scores, so it’s not something you can (or should) leave until the last minute.

You’ll also want to make sure that you’ve requested letters of recommendation from your favorite teachers, guidance counselors, or mentors. A lot of other students are going through the college application process, so you’ll want to consider who you will ask to write these letters and give them ample time to write your recommendations.

If you’re participating in Advanced Placement classes, you’ll be taking college-level courses while still in high school. At the end of your AP classes, you’ll have the opportunity to take an AP exam, which is scored on a scale of 1 to 5. If you score a 3 or higher, you could receive college credits.

Start to explore funding

And now it’s time for maybe the most important conversation — how you’re going to pay for college. It’s critical to sit down with your parents or guardians and talk about how much college is going to cost, and how much in financial aid you think you’ll need. If you’re applying for financial aid, FAFSA is the place to start. Applications for the FAFSA typically begin in October but are opening in December 2023 for the 2024-2025 school year. You can check the FAFSA website for the most current information. The site can also provide more detail on deadlines which vary by state and college. Either way, it's important to fill out the form early to have a better chance of receiving aid from programs that have limited funds.

And don’t forget about scholarships. A lot of college scholarships can be applied for year-round, and can be awarded from a multitude of places including historical societies, libraries, banks, and more. This article about optimizing your college scholarship search has great tips and tricks on where to find the best opportunities for you.

Rooting you on during your college prep

There’s a lot that needs to be done to apply for college, but you’ve got this! As your trusted resource for all things college, we’re here to help you with whatever you might need. From private student loans to scholarship opportunities and financial tips for college, we’ll be here for you every step of the way.