College Admissions Timeline

Junior Year

Fall/Winter

  • Take challenging courses

  • Take the PSAT (October)

  • Study for standardized tests

  • Get to really know your junior teachers

  • Meet with your School Counselor 

  • Personality Assessments 

  • Criteria Development with your IEC 

  • Work on preliminary college list with your IEC 

  • Take a deep dive into your extracurriculars — focus on leadership and impact

  • Research schools 

  • Have an honest talk with your parent/guardian about paying for college

  • Dual Enrollment classes at BCC/MCLA

  • Learn overall Admissions Landscape and timeline 

  • Demonstrated Need conversation 

  • Begin to look at summer jobs, internships, experiences 

  • Development of student resume 

  • Inform your School Counselor you are working with an IEC

Winter/Spring

  • Register and take standardized tests (May/June)

  • Identify junior teachers who might write you a letter of recommendation

  • Identify an “other” letter of recommendation category 

  • Preliminary college list begins to be put into the three categories 

  • Study for AP exams 

  • Look at summer Dual Enrollment classes at MCLA

  • Learn about the college application process

  • Early Action/Early Decision/Regular Decision conversations 

  • Dual Enrollment courses at BCC

  • Visit college campuses 

  • Attend College Open House Events 

  • Register for your senior classes 

  • Review transcript with School Counselor to make sure no errors 

  • Learn how to use and gather information from a college website 

  • Finalize summer plans 

  • Beginning stages of essay development 

  • Continue review of student resume 

  • Discussion about FAFSA and CSS Profile

Summer between Junior & Senior Years

  • Essay development and edits (and edits)

  • Begin to finalize college list

  • Common Application opens August 1st 

  • Supplemental Essay work begins 

  • SAT — August 

  • Design Spreadsheet for College Application requirements and deadlines

  • Research who the Admissions Counselor is for each of your colleges for your region and add to your College Application Spreadsheet 

  • Email a reminder to your Recommenders

A young man with blond hair, wearing a light blue shirt and a backpack, leaning against a wooden wall while reading a notebook in a bright school hallway with other students in the background.

Senior Year

Fall

  • Make sure your Senior Schedule is challenging and well-rounded

  • Schedule an appointment with your School Counselor

  • Visit college campuses

  • Finalize essay 

  • Finalize your student resume 

  • Finish all standardized testing 

  • Release test scores to colleges (if applicable) 

  • Schedule interviews (if needed) 

  • Attend College Open House Events 

  • Attend college visits at high school 

  • Log into Common Application and finish applications 

  • Finalize Supplemental Essays 

  • Review deadlines and your College Application Spreadsheet 

  • Decision about Early Decision/Early Action/Regular Decision 

  • Speak with your Recommenders about deadlines 

  • FAFSA — October 1st 

  • Finish all applications and submit 

  • Apply for scholarships 

  • Do well for Q1 

  • Make sure that your file is complete at each college

Winter/Spring

  • Send updates to schools that may have Deferred you

  • Have Q2 grades and mid-year reports sent to each school — school counselor

  • Fight senioritis!

  • Make final campus visits

  • Sign into college portals of the schools where you were accepted 

  • Double check that the college does not need anything further from you while you wait for an admissions decision 

  • Compare financial aid award letters

  • Send in your deposit once you have decided to accept a school’s offer

  • Send updates to schools that waitlist you where you are still interested in attending 

  • Graduate

  • Pat yourself on the back 

  • Thank your teachers, school counselor, parents/guardians — anyone that helped you along the way