October Advice for Seniors

Senior year is moving fast!  Make sure you’re on track with the college application process by reviewing our October advice for seniors.

Request any outstanding recommendations.  If you’ve been on the fence about which teachers will recommend you, make a point of figuring it out soon!  Remember, you want to have 2 teachers from core academic subject areas (math, science, humanities, social science, foreign language) who can write you a positive and interesting recommendation.  If you’re having trouble deciding who to ask, talk to your college counselor about it, and s/he can help you.

Register for any remaining SAT, ACT, or SAT Subject Tests (if needed).  At this point, you may be done with all of your standardized testing.  If so – great!  However, if you need to put some finishing touches on your testing, there’s still time to get in those final exams.  You can still register for the November and December SAT and SAT Subject Tests, and the December ACT.

Familiarize yourself with any early application deadlines.  Does your top choice school have an Early Action or Early Decision deadline?  Are you applying to any schools with Rolling Admission or any state schools with early deadlines?  Be sure to review the deadlines for all of the colleges on your list, particularly your top choices.  You don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to apply early because you weren’t thorough in your research.

Keep working on your personal statement and supplemental essays.  If you haven’t already finished your personal statement, make that a priority.  If you have finished your main application essay, it’s time to turn your attention to the supplemental essays and to make sure you move through those essays both thoughtfully and efficiently.  Map out how many you’ll need to write and try to set target dates for each essay’s completion – that way, you’re not racing against the clock at the last minute.

Keep working on your Common Application and other application forms.  The actual application forms themselves can be the least exciting part of the college application process.  However, the information on your application form is considered just as carefully as your essays, so it’s important to be thorough and accurate.  You don’t want to leave this to the last minute!

October is a busy time of year, with college application deadlines getting closer and schoolwork to juggle, as well.  The good news is that with a little foresight and planning, the next few months don’t have to be super stressful.