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Seniors

Senior Year Timeline

August

  • Narrow college list down to schools you would realistically attend, if accepted
     
  • Research admissions requirements (SAT I, SAT II, ACT, recommendations, deadlines)
     

September

  • Register for SAT and/or SAT Subject Test or ACT
     
  • Attend sessions with visiting college admissions officers throughout the fall and visit colleges to which you are applying
     
  • Decide whether you should apply for an early admission/early action decision
     
  • Review deadlines for specific college programs and scholarships
     
  • Check Guidance bulletin board and website for scholarship announcements and visits by college representatives
     
  • Work hard in your classes. Senior year grades count toward your admissions and college placement
     

October

  • Attend college nights and fairs
     
  • If applying for early decision or early action, send in your applications this month (deadlines are early November)
     
  • Begin to get FAFSA materials together 

Early decision plans are binding. You agree to attend the college if accepted and if the college offers an adequate financial aid package. Although you can apply to only one college for early decision, applying to other colleges through the regular admission process is allowed. If the first-choice college accepts you early, all other applications must be withdrawn.

Early action plans are similar to early decision plans, but are not binding. If accepted, you can choose to commit to the college immediately, or wait until the spring. Under this plan, you may also apply early action to other colleges. Usually, candidates have until the late spring to let the college know of their decision.

Regular Decision applicants have the option to apply to as many colleges as they wish, and eventually weigh all offers of admission and financial aid before making a final commitment. Applicants generally have until May to make a final decision about whether to attend. An enrollment deposit will hold a place in the freshman class.

  • Check with your college’s Financial Aid Office to see if they require the CSS Profile, which is an online application that collects information used by certain colleges and scholarship programs to award institutional aid funds: https://profileonline.collegeboard.com
     
  • Register for the December SAT and/or ACT
     
  • Ask for letters of recommendations from teachers, coaches, counselors, etc.
     
  • Continue to check high school website for upcoming college visits, scholarship info and other announcements
     

November

  • November 1 and 15: Deadlines for Early Action and Early Decision applications
     
  • Continue working on applications and ensure all deadlines will be met. Be sure to make copies and/or save everything.
     

December

  • Request for school reports should be given to your counselor by the 1st week of the month. Check application due dates.
     
  • Do not take rolling admission applications for granted. (Some colleges do not have application deadlines; they admit students on a continuous basis). These schools may reach their maximum class size quickly, so the earlier you apply, the more availability there will be.
     
  • Notification of admission decisions for Early Decision and Early Action applications generally arrive in December or January
     
  • Continue searching for scholarships and grants
     
  • File your FAFSA if you have not already done so. Once FAFSA is filed, watch for the Student Aid Report (SAR) and review it for accuracy.
 

January

  • Keep working in your classes! Grades and courses continue to count throughout your senior year.
     
  • Are all of your college applications submitted?
     

February

  • Monitor your application to be sure that all materials are sent and received on time and that they are complete. Continue searching and applying for scholarships.
     

March

  • Students who have been accepted to more than one school and are unsure of which to attend, might consider visiting or revisiting the campuses
     

April

  • Once financial aid packages start coming in from each school, review and compare them
     
  • Students should decide on the school they will attend by accepting and declining offers, as necessary, and sending any required deposits by around May 1
     

May and June

  • Start organizing your after high school life. Note orientation, registration, and other important dates and deadlines for the upcoming school year.