Most high school seniors anxiously await life after high school.
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.
- Begin writing drafts of your college essays.
- Start completing early admission college applications.
- Meet with school representatives who visit your high school.
- Look at virtual tours of college campuses online.
- If you haven’t already taken the SAT and/or ACT, register for the test(s).
- 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 FSA ID (and your parent will need one, too) by creating an account on StudentAid.gov so you can complete the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as it is available by October 1.
