Grade Level Spring/Summer Timelines
With Help From College Board, Fastweb.com, & NACAC

Fall Tasks for Seniors:

August/September

Register for the SAT and/or ACT if you didn’t take a college entrance exam as a junior or want to take one again. Remember: Your counselor can help with fee waivers.
Take a look at some college applications. Make note of all the pieces of information you will need to compile.
Check with your school counselor to make sure you are on track to graduate and fulfill college admission requirements.
Take every opportunity to get to know colleges. Meet with college representatives who visit your school, attend local college fairs, and visit campuses.
Narrow down your list of colleges. Collect information about the application and financial aid process at each school.
Create a checklist and calendar to keep track of standardized test dates, college application due dates, and financial aid deadlines. Make note of the other materials, such as recommendations or essays, you’ll need to complete your applications.

Start thinking about the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) - Look for the full rollout on or before December 1, 2024. Until then, you can begin by gathering the necessary documents, knowing deadlines, creating an FSA ID, choosing what schools to list on the FAFSA (you can list up to 20 schools), and knowing where to find help (check the FAFSA website's helpline or call 1-800-433-4243)
Some colleges will have deadlines (rolling, priority, early decision, and early action) as early as this month.
If you cannot afford the application fees that many colleges charge, ask your counselor to help you request a fee waiver.
Finalize your college essay. Many schools will require that you submit at least one essay with your application.
Request personal recommendations from teachers, school counselors, or employers.
Research scholarships. Ask your counselor, your colleges, and local religious and civic groups about scholarship opportunities. You should never pay for scholarship information.

November/December

Finalize and send any early decision or early action applications due this month. Have a parent, teacher, counselor, or other adult review the application before it is submitted.
Every college will require a copy of your transcript from your high school. Follow your school’s procedure for sending transcripts.
Make sure testing companies have sent your scores directly to the colleges to which you are applying.
Begin to organize regular decision applications and financial aid forms, which will be due in January and/or February.
If needed, register for the January SAT. It is the last one colleges will be able to consider for a senior.
Many popular and selective colleges will have application deadlines as early as Jan. 1. Others have deadlines later in January and February, and some have "rolling admissions".
If necessary, register for the February ACT (some colleges will be able consider it).
In January, ask your guidance office to send first semester transcripts to schools where you applied. At the end of the school year, they will need to send final transcripts to the college you will attend.

Fall Tasks for Juniors

Talk with your counselor about the year ahead. Confirm that your courses will put you on the right track for college admission.
Go on college visits! On the websites of the colleges in which you are interested, look for a tab to "visit", and register for open houses or walking tours.
Look for local college fairs such as the Conestoga Valley College Night (November 4), and the Lancaster County Christian College Fair. (October 24)
Ask about test dates for the PSAT, ACT, SAT and CLT. You’ll need to register up to six weeks ahead of time.
Start developing a résumé—a record of your accomplishments, activities, and work experience. This will be an important part of your college application

If you haven’t participated in many activities outside of class, now is the time to sign up. Consider clubs at school, team sports, leadership roles, or involvement in a religious or civic community group.
Take the PSAT. Taking the test as a junior will qualify you for some scholarship consideration and identify you to colleges as a potential applicant. Make sure you start preparing for the test several months in advance using the tools available through College Board. And remember, if you’re not happy with your scores when you get them, you might want to test again in the fall. Many students take the test a second time as seniors, and they usually do better.
Begin to prepare for the ACT or SAT. Plan to take at least one of these tests in the spring. Ask your counselor if you qualify for a fee waiver.

General Advice for Juniors

Stay open to all the possibilities—don’t limit your search. To find the best college for you, you should apply to colleges of varying selectivity. Selective colleges admit a portion of students who apply. Some colleges are highly selective while others are less selective. Make sure to apply to public, private, in-state, and out-of-state schools so that you have plenty of options from which to choose.

Register with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Eligibility Center) if you are an athlete planning to continue playing a sport in college.
Find a full-time or part-time job if you don't already have one!
Create a résumé—a record of your academic accomplishments, extracurricular activities, and work experiences since you started high school.