Summer To-Dos for Rising Juniors and Seniors

Our recent college admissions information night focused on summer to-dos for rising juniors and seniors.

Here is a summary of our top summer tips:

Rising Juniors

Admissions Testing

• Take a set of SAT-ACT practice tests in June or July to determine the best test for submitting with your college applications next year.
• Have in place a plan to prepare for and take at least one admissions test during the first semester of your junior year (if possible). 

Academics

• In July, contact your school registrar and request an unofficial transcript. Review the transcript to ensure a your courses and grades were recorded correctly.
• Research required courses for the majors you are interested in and then review your junior course assignments for any changes or corrections that need to be made.
• Catch up in any core courses through summer school or private tutoring. Now is the time to correct any deficiencies before you tackle your junior year courses, which offer the last chance to raise your GPA before applications.
• Read every day! This one activity will benefit all aspects of your academic life now and into the future.

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Be active and involved in YOUR communities, whether that’s at school, a church, on sports teams, or through other pursuits. What’s important is that you are playing a role in helping something larger than yourself to be successful. 
• Look for ways to stay active and grow your skills or interests through a job, volunteering, playing sports, participating in arts, or pursuing a passion project. 
• Actively take on new responsibilities in your home or community. 

College Research

• Now is the time to get organized before the floodgates of college information open in the fall. Find and start using organizational tools to keep track of schools, information, and schedules. Something as simple as a shared online spreadsheet is a great way for everyone in the family to access the information you have gathered and keep it well organized.
• Take a personality test to see what you might want to study in college. We often recommend 16Personalities, but there are many to choose from online.
• Try to spend some time reflecting on possible career paths and researching the college majors those might require.
• Use online tools and other resources to start researching average test scores and GPA for admissions at schools you find.
• Learn about the different types of higher education institutions and try to get to a campus or two to see how they differ. Lots of schools are offering online sessions as well during the summer, so plan to attend a few at the schools you have started to identify as possibilities.

Application Prep

• This summer is a good time to catalog your achievements and activities for freshman and sophomore year from clubs, sports, academics, and other extracurriculars. Make sure to make as many notes about each as possible to jog your memory later. You never know what bit of information might prove important later or serve as an example you will use in preparing your application’s components.
• Begin working on a resume.

Rising Seniors

Testing

• Ideally, seniors would be done with any admissions testing before the year begins so they can focus on other priorities such as applications. If a student needs to test during the fall, be aware that early-action and early-decision application deadlines begin in mid-October, so any test results will need to be back by then. (ACT: July, September, October; SAT: August, September, October)

Academics

• Contact your registrar in July to request an unofficial transcript, which you will need for completing your applications.
• Be sure to check all the grades received and senior year class assignments for any errors or problems. If you need to make changes, especially for next year’s courses, you need to do this before school starts.

Extra-Curricular Activities

• Stay active in your communities, but this summer you need to look for leadership roles if possible. If you cannot find a leadership role, create one. Find a problem in your community and solve it.
• This is a good time to do an internship associated with your planned major or career before you commit to a professional track.
• Athletes who expect to play in college should register with the NCAA.

College Research

• ​Now is the time to start cutting schools from your college list and narrow it down to a mix of 10-12 safety, target, and reach schools (total). With selectivity rising, we recommend including more safety schools now.
• Once the list is pared, be sure to track application timelines, what application type they use (Common, Coalition, proprietary), special application requirements, and fees for each so you are not surprised in the fall.
• Visit as many schools as possible, participate in virtual sessions, and plan your fall trips to the ones you cannot make it to this summer.
• Find out who the local/regional representatives are for the schools you will be applying to and reach out now with any questions you have identified from your research.
• Be active and participatory with your colleges of interest. They are tracking every interaction with you, so if you are interested in a school, you want to be on their radar in a big way now by demonstrating engaged and active interest in their communications and event opportunities.

Application Prep

• Requests for letter of recommendation writers should be made at the end of school or soon after. Be prepared to provide each writer a summary of your classes together to help them remember key details. Note that some counselors also require a summer packet to be completed before school ends in June for their upcoming work with you in senior year.
• Update and finish your resume and update your activities and accomplishments list. Then give some thought to which ones best support the story you will tell with your application. You will be limited in the number you can include, so choose carefully.
• Start brainstorming essay topics and be prepared to start writing in August. The essay prompts for the Common App are available now. Supplemental essays for individual schools should be available no later than September 1.
• The Common Application opens on August 1. Students should start working on completing it as time allows. For schools that do no use the Common App, make sure to identify their specific application requirements that you will also need to complete or additional information you will need to provide.

Financial Aid

• The big to-do for parents and guardians is getting up to speed on financial aid and college costs.
• Once a college list is available, start researching the potential cost for each school.
• To be considered for aid at most schools, you will need to complete a FAFSA form in October. Get a head start by applying for an FSA ID for the student and by assembling the documents needed to complete the FAFSA. You should plan to complete and submit your FAFSA as soon as possible after the application opens. Schools often make financial aid decisions on a rolling basis, so if your information is in months after the opening, you may lose out to others who had their information in sooner.
• Check if any schools require you to submit a CSS profile, which is a financial aid form used by some private schools. The CSS requires considerably more detail about the family’s finances, so plan to allocate several hours if the student will be applying to any schools requiring it. The CSS opens on October 1 as well.

Everyone

No matter where you are in the college admissions journey, be sure to also take some time for yourself this summer break to recharge, have fun, and get rested before the next school year. Whether you are a rising junior or senior, the year ahead will be a busy one.

Replay

Want to learn more? Watch the complete presentation on YouTube.

Have more questions about what to do this summer? Contact us to set up a college counseling consultation. We are meeting with rising juniors and seniors this summer to discuss their plans and needs for next school year. Hourly and package rates are available. In addition, Everest test-prep clients get 20 percent off up to 10-hours of our college counseling services.