The application that creates a fantastic impression with admissions officers cannot be rushed. The more methodical and thoughtful you are in your preparation leading up to the submission of your application, the more likely it is that you will have a good outcome.

The reader has about 8 minutes to review your application in the first round. When you make it easy for the reader to easily see who you are and what you stand for, this will make a big difference to your progression through the rounds of evaluation done by the college admissions officers.

The more colleges you intend to apply to, the more time you should allow yourself to prepare for your applications.

You should give yourself 3 to 6 months leading up to the submission of your first application, whether at Early Decision, Early Action or Regular Decision, to prepare your Common Application. This means that the summer immediately following your junior year in high school is the perfect time to start.

Your senior year will be a very busy one with school work, activities and college applications all demanding your attention which means that you will reduce your own stress by initiating preparation of your college application as early as possible.

What you must do between the end of junior year and summer before senior year

The summer between junior and senior year in high school is an ideal time to start working on your college application.

Step 1 - Prepare your request for Recommendation Letters

The top colleges want to see recommendation letters from teachers who know you well, and who can provide insight that reinforces who you are or adds a new dimension about you not covered elsewhere in the application. If you want your teacher to write a recommendation letter that provides genuine insight about you, then you have to give your teachers time to write it.

It is smart to ask early. If you can, your request for recommendation letters should be made at the end of your junior year in high school before the start of the summer break. The teacher’s impression of you is still fresh, making it easier for the teacher to write the recommendation. This, of course, requires that your information packet for your recommender is ready by the end of your junior year.

Don’t wait till October or November in the Fall to make the request for a recommendation letter. At this point, your teacher may be dealing with 20 requests for recommendation letters and will not have the time to write a highly personal and insightful letter for you. At the latest, you should be ready to make your request in September at the start of your senior year. If the college you are applying to requires a counselor’s recommendation, then your request to the counselor for a recommendation letter should also be made no later than September of senior year.

Read Guide to recommendations that impress top colleges

Step 2 - Create a Common Application account and familiarize yourself with its layout

Make sure you create your Common App account during the summer if you have not already done so. Familiarize yourself with the different sections of the application and start writing down what information you need to complete the application.

You can use “College Search” function in the Common App to find the colleges on your college list and add them to the Common App. Once you select your colleges in the Common App, you will find application deadlines for each of the colleges as well as what Supplemental essays and questions they require their applicants to complete.

We strongly suggest that you create a spreadsheet to track application deadlines and supplemental essays by college so that you do not miss anything out.

Here’s a list of deadlines for the hardest to get into colleges in 2022/2023.

Step 3 - Start framing and writing your Essay

The Essay is pivotal in the success of your application. A great essay can lift an ordinary application, and an ordinary essay can sink an otherwise great application.

Every applicant aspiring to attend a top college must start on their essay framework and first draft in the summer before senior year. Ideally, the 2nd draft should be complete before the end of summer leaving time to polish the essay before summer ends.

Do not write about the activities in your Essay that you intend to include in the Activities section of the Common App.

You should draft your essay in Word or Google docs so that review and editing is easy. You only upload the final version into the Common App.

Get guidance on writing the Essay HERE

Step 4 - Finalize your college list

You should finalize your preliminary college list in the summer immediately after junior year. Ideally, you should have started your college research sometime in sophomore year or early in junior year, so that you are well prepared to finalize your college list by the summer between junior and senior year.

You can learn from our guide how to get admitted with a great college list.

If you have not yet completed your college list by September of senior year, then, here are a group resources we recommend for the best places to get information for your college search

Since many of the top colleges require supplemental essays, and you must budget time to write them as far ahead of the application deadline as possible.

This means you should have a good idea, by early October of senior year, preferably sooner, which colleges you want to apply to Early Decision or Early Action, and which ones you would apply to Regular Decision if your first round applications do not work out. You can then budget your time based on the number of supplemental essays required of you.

Get guidance on College Selection and Affordability

Step 5 - Start drafting Supplemental Essays

If your plans include applying to more than 8 colleges, we strongly advise you to start working on your Supplemental Essays by August before the start of senior year, especially if you plan to apply Early Decision or Early Action.

Supplemental essays are designed to gauge your critical thinking skills and your personality. Writing a good essay takes thought and time, which is why you need to start early. For those of you applying to more than 8 colleges, the process can get overwhelming, so we suggest that you get started in the summer.

In response to essays that ask ‘Why this college” you have to get specific in relation to the college, which means doing your research to pin down your answer. This particular essay about “why this college” does not lend itself well to a “copy and paste” strategy.

We strongly suggest that you track by college what essays you need to write for each of them, so that nothing gets inadvertently left out.

Fall of senior year

While the summer would have been an ideal time to start work on your Common Application or UC application, you will still make it if you get started at the beginning of September of senior year and . Your timeline to get things done will be compressed which means that you must stay very focused between September and your application deadline in order to complete the requirements of the application.

Step 6 - Follow up with your recommenders for your Letters of Recommendation

If you did not request your teachers at the end of junior year for Letters of Recommendation, then one of the first things to do right at the very start of senior year is to get those requests sent in with your completed recommenders information packet. If a counselor’s recommendation is required, then make your request at the same time.

Read Your Guide to Great College Recommendation Letters

Step 7 - Start your essay immediately if you have not done so already

There is no time to waste if you have not already started on a framework for your Common App essay. Get that framework and first draft done ASAP in September. Seek help if you need it!

Learn more about writing a great essay.

Step 8 - Take your final SAT/ACT test

If you plan on applying Early Decision or Early Action, then you should plan on taking your last test no later than October or November of senior year so that your test results reach the colleges in time. Keep in mind that Early Decision and Early Action application deadlines typically fall on November 1 of your senior year.

Regular Decision applications are usually due in early January, and you should take your last SAT or ACT test in December so that the results reach the colleges in time.

See: Best Value for Money Test Prep Options

Step 9 - Take stock of activities and decide which ones will make you stand out

By the time you start your senior year, your activities should be focused on those that make you stand out above your peers.

You should list not more than 3 activities in your Common App. Each activity should demonstrate the qualities about you that will make you stand out to an admissions officer. Avoid listing activities that are ordinary and have been accomplished by thousands of other high school students.

Remember that being busy with a lot of activities in high school will not help you stand out in your application. Being great at just one activity will make you stand out!

The activity does not have to be a years long one, but it must be an activity that clearly demonstrates you possess the qualities the colleges want from their applicants

Get guidance on How to stand out in college applications

The Common App gives you space for 50 characters to describe your position or role for each activity, and another 150 characters to describe the activity and what you accomplished with it and/or any recognition you received. Colleges may also ask you to describe your activities in 150 characters or less in their “Writing Questions” supplement.

You do not have a lot of words available to write about your activities, which means that you must be descriptive and very succinct to get the picture across that you have been a “superstar” in your activities. This is not an easy description to write.

We suggest that you create several drafts describing your role and your activities before pasting the final version into the Common App. You should get started on this in September of senior year.

Step 10 - Write your supplemental essays and University of California essays

Get started on your Supplemental Essays no later than the first week of October of senior year for Regular Decision applications due in the first week of January. We suggest that you write the draft essays in software like Word or Google docs so that review and editing is easy, and only upload the final version into the application.

If you are applying to the University of California, the application deadline is November 30, which means you should start working on your essays no later than mid-October.

Step 11 - Review, refine and polish your main Essay and Supplemental Essays

If you are applying Early Decision or Early Action, then October should be used to review, refine and polish your essays. If you have hired an essay reader, the you should be going through your final rounds of review with him/her before you upload your essays to the Common App.

Step 12 - Fill in the personal and administrative questions in the Common App and the UC Application

For Early Decision and Early Action applicants, you must start filling out your Common App as early as possible and certainly no later than the first week of October, so that you have time to find answers that you may not have at your fingertips.

Make sure you complete all questions asked by the colleges you are applying to.

The University of California application deadline is on November 30, which means that you need to get started on the personal and administrative questions no later than November 1.

If you are only applying Regular Decision, we suggest you get started on these questions in mid-November to avoid scheduling conflicts with finals in December.

See: Application and financial aid deadlines at the top colleges

Step 13 - Upload the Essay, Supplemental Essays, Activity Descriptions and other Answers to the Common App

All of these essays and answers should be uploaded in their FINAL versions at least one day before the submission deadlines.

Early Decision and Early Action Deadline - November 1

University of California Application Deadline - November 30

Regular Decision Deadline - 1st week of January

See: Application and financial aid deadlines at the top colleges

Step 14 - Submit your application

The final step for most students takes place on the last day, but if you are ready and confident, go ahead and submit your applications before the deadline.

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