Introduction
College Applications involve a lot of decisions and planning. It also takes up much time for every student as they will have to plan their college applications and also ensure their academic performance is up to standard. This is usually the most important aspect of every student. Let us know ‘Senior Year College Application’.
Senior Year College Application
Applying For Colleges As A Senior
You should have started looking for colleges during your junior year, hopefully. This can entail meeting with your guidance counselor in high school, speaking with your parents and teachers, writing the PSAT, and, most importantly, maintaining your G.P.A. Senior year is not the time to take it easy. You must maintain your academic standing. You should balance your schedule while pursuing a range of extra programs The main criteria for admission to colleges remains academic performance. The timeline provided here will help you stay organized while you complete your college application and make it through your senior year.
Planning Your College Applications
In your sophomore year of high school, college may seem far away. Your application deadlines, may arrive more quickly than you expected. It’s never too early to begin making college plans. There is, after all, a lot to do. You must visit colleges, take tests, submit essays, and communicate with admissions offices, among other things.
You won’t have to worry about test results, AP exams, and college application deadlines throughout your senior year of high school if you do this.
Steps In Applying For Colleges
Common Application
The Common Application is a form that can be found online and is used by many schools and universities. During the summer, you can sign up for a Common Application account and familiarize yourself with it. Understand the requirements, create an application schedule, and start planning your essay, which is an essential part of any application.
ACT
Testing for the ACT can often start in September. Check the testing schedule online and register right now.
Campus visits
Take advantage of the summer’s free time to visit some of the campuses on your list before you become overburdened with homework and extracurricular activities. Almost every college will be giving tours all summer long.
Counselor For Application
Ideally, you’ve previously discussed college with your counselor during your junior year. Sit down once more to go over the entire procedure now that you’ve had the summer to consider your alternatives. Your counselor will help you plan out the application process and provide you with insightful advice regarding the schools on your list. Make sure you’re also doing all the prerequisites needed to graduate from high school.
Asking instructors from your junior year is a fantastic idea, especially if you get along with them and actively participate in their classes. If a teacher doesn’t know you well or hasn’t heard from you in a while,
SAT
Enroll in the SAT exam, which is typically given in October, November, and December. If there is a subject you excel in, you should consider taking the SAT Subject examinations as well. Get applications from the schools on your list by requesting them. You should now have your list to no more than eight or ten schools. If you’re considering applying for an early decision or early action, this is very crucial.
University Essay
Spend a good deal of time planning out your essay. This is important. Students who have thought about the essay for months will stand out.
Grades and Extracurricular Activities
Keep in mind not to let your grades slip. The first half of your senior year will be examined by admissions advisors to determine whether you are still pushing yourself and excelling. Investigate leadership positions if you have previously participated in extracurricular activities. This can entail leading a sports team as captain, founding your organization, or joining the student government. You have the chance in your senior year to develop from a young adult to a student leader.
Transcripts from high school
Verify the accuracy of your high school transcripts by requesting them. You’ll need time to make any corrections if something is incorrect or missing. Reviewing your transcript can serve as a helpful reminder to keep up your grades all the way through.
Apply
The majority of colleges have a standard application deadline in December. There may be different deadlines from one institution to another, so be sure you’ve been keeping track of them all
Complete other application components
You have already completed your tests, essays, and letters of recommendation. Verify that each college you are applying to has formally received your test results. Additionally, make sure any letters of recommendation have been sent by mail.
Financial aid
You should have received a Student Aid Report, or SAR, by now if you submitted your FAFSA in December. Examine this thoroughly, making sure that all of the information is correct.
Essential Dates To Know In College Applications
Keep essential dates organized before you begin the college application process so you don’t forget them. The following are the most important deadlines to remember when you complete your college application:
Test dates:
You can register for standardized tests like the SAT and ACT on any given day. These results could significantly alter how you apply to colleges.
Deadlines for early action applications:
If you choose, you can designate one school as an early action application. However, as it will come much sooner than the rest of your deadlines, you don’t want to miss the application deadline.
Decision Day:
The decision day deadline is the most crucial one to meet. You must inform your college that you have accepted their offer! May 1st is the deadline for most schools
Balancing School Activities And College Applications
Ways in which students balance their commitment to school and extracurricular activities with the demands of writing dozens of essays and applications are;
Set up a system
Numerous resources are available to aid your organization. Begin by purchasing a planner, or if you’re tech-savvy, download an organization tool like Study Cal or set up a calendar on your phone and include all of your upcoming appointments, college interviews, and deadlines for applications. You’ll be able to see what has to be done when you take the time to organize your schedule and list everything you need to complete. This will also assist you in creating a timeline for your application and breaking the work up into manageable portions. To ensure that you have some time to spare before deadlines, try to complete all projects, papers, applications, and other assignments as early as possible.
Prioritize
When you’re a high school senior applying to colleges, everything seems significant, and in many situations, everything is. Finishing some essays that aren’t due for another month or two should take second place if you have a project that is due in a few days. However, you must still keep track of those essays to prevent a later surprise. You can decide what’s most important on any given day and what to tackle next by learning how to prioritize those commitments and assignments.
Fix due dates
Setting personal objectives and goals will enable you to manage applications and coursework even while projects, assignments, and applications already have strict deadlines. Setting a deadline well in advance will give you and your college counselor plenty of time to check the application for any last-minute errors before hitting submit, for instance, if you’re applying to college in an early admission round. Additionally, keep in mind that some parts of your applications may have earlier due dates. For instance, the Common Application is frequently due before scholarship and other financial aid application materials.
Defeat ‘Senioritis’
Avoid falling victim to the senioritis trap; it affects students every year. Remember that universities will look at your senior year grades, so it’s important to keep your grade trend on the upswing even after receiving acceptance offers. Keep yourself motivated by concentrating on your short-term objectives and due dates, and take breaks as needed. Don’t forget to take some time to unwind and recharge since the senior year is busy.
Don’t put things off
Many students make the costly error of procrastinating on their college applications until the last minute. Don’t delay doing it.
Assist Others When Needed
Ask for assistance from friends, your parents, instructors, tutors, or your college counselor without hesitation. Ask someone who can assist you more effectively for advice if you’re feeling confused or overburdened.
Conclusion
Students may easily handle the college application process alongside their senior year course load with the right planning, organization, and mindset. How to juggle a demanding academic and extracurricular schedule with the requirements of college applications is one of the main obstacles senior students who plan to attend college this year will experience. Although we generally suggest that students begin their college applications in the summer to help reduce workload in the autumn, many students still have a lot of essays to write and paperwork to finish before application deadlines so we have outlined the steps and how to balance everything in this article.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the FAFSA deadline?
If you intend to apply for any sort of government help, you must submit your FAFSA by the deadline. You must file by June 1st, 2022, for the 2022–2023 school year, but keep in mind that the earlier you file, the better.
- What are college fairs?
College fairs are typically held in the fall at colleges and universities. Parents and students are welcome to see the campus and hear more about academics and student life at this open recruiting event. Nowadays, the majority of schools now provide online virtual fairs.
