A College Application To-Do List for Summer
by Sarah M.
As the summer begins, it’s the perfect time to start your college applications. This encompasses a lot, so in order to avoid being overwhelmed and stay organized and motivated, it can help to divide the job into sections.
Here is a list of tasks, in order, that you can take on in the summer to structure your time and set yourself up for success in the fall and beyond.
College list.
This list does not have to be final until the fall, but you should have a preliminary list of reach, target, and safety schools established before you begin writing.
This can help you tailor the topics you choose for your essays, and it can also help you set your writing schedule (since different colleges have different essay requirements).
Decision plan.
Will you be applying to a dream school early decision? Will you be choosing early action also? Since some schools have Restricted Early Action policies, it’s important to research each school on your list to make sure you are familiar with their policy, and then take your own fall schedule and workload to structure your application schedule.
Like the college list, the decision plan does not need to be finalized until the fall. Still, you should start thinking about it early, as it requires planning and consideration to be ready for deadlines in October or November.
Essays.
These are the most time-consuming part of most people’s college application process, and beginning early is the best thing you can do to set yourself up for success.
Start in June and work steadily through July and August, giving yourself plenty of time for brainstorming, drafting, editing, and seeking advice from others. Most people apply to at least some schools on the Common Application, so it often makes sense to begin with the personal statement. However, depending on your own list, you may want to begin with other, college-specific essays.
Activities Lists.
Your resume and lists of activities and honors are also important to craft with care. Though you do not have much space for each entry on these lists, you nevertheless must take care to use specific and active language to describe what you have done and achieved in high school.
These lists can and often should differ depending on the colleges you are applying to (for example, if you are applying to different majors at different schools). So give yourself plenty of time to perfect your entries and adapt them to the various requirements of your different applications.
Supplemental materials.
This does not apply to everyone, so you may not have any work to do in this category. However, many colleges permit and/or require alternative submissions like video introductions, portfolios of your creative work, and more. Consider whether you have skills you might want to highlight in a form other than an essay.
Financial considerations.
You will probably not do very much work in this category in the summer. Still, it is important to make sure you and your parents are aware of costs associated with different schools, and it is never too early to begin researching scholarship opportunities within certain schools.
