Most high school seniors anxiously await life after high school. Many are ready to pursue their dreams.
And while that life offers new-found freedoms, those same seniors may experience stress over the responsibilities that come with those freedoms.
Your senior year is a time to dream of the future and think about all your life’s possibilities. But college preparation also means paying attention to details, completing paperwork, and keeping track of deadlines.
During your senior year, you will finalize your college choice. This year is filled with admission applications, scholarship essays, financial aid information, and the need to meet deadlines. Throughout your senior year, continue to build your resume by achieving academic success, as well as participating in extracurricular activities. Colleges are interested in well-rounded students.
Below are the tasks you should complete during the month of September:
- Mark your calendar with registration, admissions, and financial aid deadlines and fees.
- Create separate folders for each of the schools that interest you and keep the materials organized.
- Consider creating a personal email address for all of your admissions and scholarship applications. Check it often for any notices or reminders from the colleges.
- Begin writing drafts of your college essays.
- Start completing early admission college applications.
- Meet with college representatives who visit your high school.
- Look at virtual tours of college campuses online. Make sure to schedule on-campus tours of the colleges that interest you.
- If you haven’t already taken the SAT and/or ACT, register for the test(s). Take it early in the year so you can take it again if you want to try to improve your score.
- Attend college planning and/or financial aid information nights and college fairs.
- Ask employers, teachers, and school counselors for letters of recommendation to accompany your admissions applications.
- Set up your StudentAid.gov account (and your parent will need one, too) by creating an account on StudentAid.gov so you can complete the 2027-28 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as it is available by October 1.
