July College Planning Checklist

One Month Away From Common App Madness, Students Should Get Head Start Now Summer is flying by! It’s already July, and rising seniors are only a month away from college application madness. While the Common App has already announced the prompts for 2014-15, and some schools have released their supplement topics, some students might be waiting until Aug. 1 to get started with everyone else. A word of advice: Get started now! Any downtime this summer is a great opportunity to get a head start on apps, or just prepare for the upcoming school year. Here’s what students need to be doing this month to stay on track for a successful college admission season and school year. Rising Seniors Some schools are releasing their applications and supplement questions ahead of the standard Aug. 1 open date. If you have the opportunity, get started on your apps now! Less that you’ll have to do come August. Get organized. Make sure your resume and all other application materials are ready to go. Set goals and an application timeline. Chances are you’re applying to multiple schools, so set a realistic timeline for getting started early and completing them on time. Rising Juniors Continue your SAT or ACT prep. Use your downtime this summer to brush up on skills and concepts that you may struggle with. How’s your outside reading coming along? Pick one or two other books or publications to read this summer. Get organized! Update your resume and plan a test-taking and college visit timeline. Rising Sophomores Continue your outside reading. It will help you explore your interests and become more knowledgeable about a topic that you’re passionate about. If you haven’t already, create your resume and fill it with activities and accomplishments from freshmen year and the first half of the summer. Rising Freshmen High school is an exciting and life changing experience. This month, talk to some upperclassmen to get some insight into the ins and outs of your particular high school. If any of the clubs or sports you’re interested in offer summer meetings or practices, aim to go to at least one this month. You can learn if that activity is a good-fit for you or not. What are your college prep plans for this month? Have you already started on your application essays? Tell us in the comments below!