College Admissions Timeline
Understanding what you need to do (and when) is critical to achieving your desired college outcomes. Below you will find a complete college admissions timeline of important tasks, focus areas and activities related to college planning from freshman to senior year of high school.
Fall/Winter
- Meet with your private or high school guidance counselor to discuss your interests and college goals
- Get involved in school extracurricular activities
- Discuss your aptitudes and interests with a counselor
- Talk to your parents about paying for college
- Start a college savings plan
Spring/Summer
- Document your extracurricular activities and awards for later college applications
- Start to more deeply focus on the extracurriculars that interest you
- Volunteer or get a job/internship
- Use the summer to explore your interests with a summer enrichment program
Fall/Winter
- Develop a standardized test plan and timeline
- Take a practice ACT/SAT
- Take a major & career assessment and explore potential career opportunities
- Begin to look into college requirements for admissions and what grades and test scores you need to reach your goals
- Talk to your counselor about high school course planning and taking AP and honors courses
- Work towards leadership positions in your extracurricular activities
- Get involved with your community and volunteer activities
Spring/Summer
- Attend college fairs
- Visit local colleges to get a feel for what you like in a college campus
- Take SAT subjects tests in May or June
- Research and apply for summer programs
- Volunteer, shadow your career interest, get a job or attend a summer enrichment program
Fall
- Identify 2-3 careers and majors of interest for college
- Take the PSAT in October to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship award
- Talk with your family about what factors are important in your college choice
- Establish your college budget parameters
- Attend college informational sessions, talk to reps visiting your school and attend college fairs
- Visit colleges of interest and begin demonstrating interest by signing up for events, following on social media etc..
- Find out what type of financial aid you may qualify for by completing the FAFSA Forecaster
- Meet with your counselor to discuss ways to improve your college application portfolio
- Define and document your important factors in choosing a college
- Identify teachers who will write you letters of recommendation in the spring
Winter
- Register for AP exams in May
- Begin to research scholarships you may qualify and want to apply for
- Prepare for the SAT and ACT with practice tests and test prep
- Register for the ACT/SAT in the spring
Spring
- Create a preliminary list of 15-20 colleges
- Compare costs of each school that interests you and the student loan implications
- Organize your college search online
- Do research on colleges to identify admissions requirements
- Continue ACT/SAT prep and practice exams and take the ACT and/or SAT
- Develop a college application resume to highlight your activities, awards, volunteering and job experiences
- Ask teachers to write you letters of recommendation
- Start brainstorming ideas for your college essay
Summer
- Participate in summer programs, shadow your career interest, get a job or volunteer
- Go on college visits
- Attend virtual information sessions at colleges of interest
- Request admissions information and school catalogs
- Begin writing drafts of your college essay
August
- Narrow down your list to 8-12 colleges
- Check on letters of recommendation from your teachers
- Continue to challenge yourself during your senior year and stay focused on maintaining your GPA
- Register for ACT/SAT exams
- Begin completing the Common Application
- Research early decision, early action, regular decision deadlines
September
- Meet with your guidance counselor to develop a college admission strategy and financial aid application plan
- Create a spreadsheet with admissions and financial aid deadlines
- Meet with school reps who visit your high school, participate in informational nights and college fairs
- Attend college planning and/or financial aid information sessions
- Ask for final letters of recommendation
- Contact the schools' financial aid offices to determine which forms they require
- Set up your student and parent FSA ID's and start gathering information so you can complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as October 1
- Complete your common application personal statement essay
- Begin to work on supplemental essays and college specific applications
October
- Take the SAT and/or ACT
- Complete your FAFSA online and determine your financial aid eligibility
- Take official visits to your top school choices
- Follow up to ensure your teachers and guidance counselor send letters of recommendation
- Finalize portfolios required for admission
- Complete and submit early action or early decision applications by their deadlines
November
- Complete applications for college specific scholarships for which you may be eligible
- Stay focused on your school work
December
- Finalize and submit regular admission applications
- Continue researching and applying for all types of scholarships
- Watch your email for early admissions decisions
January through March
- Negotiate financial awards and write appeal letters
- Finish strong in your last semester of high school
- Rank your top school choices based on acceptances
- Research local and other scholarships and apply
- Work on scholarship applications and make notes of the deadlines
- Continue to watch for admissions decisions from colleges
- Compare your financial aid award offers
- Check with the financial aid offices to ensure your paperwork is complete
- Narrow down to your final college choices and make any last campus visits
- Research and apply for summer jobs
April
- Continue to negotiate financial awards and appeal as necessary
- Make your final school decision and mail deposits
- Notify the schools you have chosen not to attend
- Note registration, orientation, and housing dates
May
- Sign up for summer orientation sessions at your college choice
- Finalize your summer job plans
- Prepare a student budget
- Follow up with your high school to ensure the counselor forwards your final school transcripts to the college
- Request college transcripts for any dual credit courses you took in high school to receive college credit
June through July
- Notify your counselors and teachers of your college selection and any scholarships received.
- Send "thank-you" notes to teachers who wrote you letters of recommendation
- Accept or decline student loans by the school's deadline
- Double check with the financial aid office to ensure all paperwork is complete
- Attend or register to attend college orientation
- Discuss the college transition with your parents and new responsibilities you will take on
- Save money from your summer job
- Register for the fall semester
- Pat yourself on the back - you did it!
Free College Planning Roadmap Session.
Designed to help your family map out the key activities and focus areas for college planning.
- During the session you will review your personal goals, and discuss key focus areas for each semester of high school to help you get into your dream school.
- Review your custom college admissions timeline and information on how to plan your college journey.
- Talk with an expert about how to ensure you succeed in college planning.