It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy….if you aren’t applying to college this year.
But if you are applying to college this year, just a little work now will make the livin’ much easier later this fall. NOW is the time to start the college application process! The Common App launches for 2019-2020 on August 1, but the Common App essay prompts for this year have already been published. (They remain the same as the 2018-2019 essay prompts.) We suggest the following to-do list for the month of July:
- Finalize the list of colleges to which you are applying.
- Be realistic–applications can be expensive, and your time is limited–especially for schools that require interviews. Remember to include at least one safety school on your list.
- Research scholarships and other funding options.
- Check out this Reddit post which contains a fairly comprehensive list of full-ride scholarships/fellowship programs.
- Organize a list of application and scholarship deadlines.
- Been there, done that–and I MISSED a major fellowship deadline, one that might have changed my college trajectory.
- Register for early fall SAT/ACT tests
- If you want to take the SAT or ACT in the fall for one last chance to improve your scores, bear in mind application and scholarship deadlines. You might need the August/September test dates in order to receive your scores prior to applying. You can find SAT test dates and registration deadlines here and ACT information on test dates here.
- If you want to take the SAT or ACT in the fall for one last chance to improve your scores, bear in mind application and scholarship deadlines. You might need the August/September test dates in order to receive your scores prior to applying. You can find SAT test dates and registration deadlines here and ACT information on test dates here.
- Begin brainstorming for your essay
- We highly recommend our Better College Apps Essay Guide Package and our other services. The Introspection Worksheet and Essay Guide offer valuable guidance to this process, and the package offers you email consultation with us.
- Ask for letters of recommendation.
- Yes, you CAN contact teachers over the summer to ask for letters of recommendation. If you don’t have access to teachers over the summer, at least decide who you will ask right away at the start of the school year. Forementioned missed major fellowship deadline–it was actually due to NOT having a LoR. A little planning can prevent major application regret.
