18 Apr Road Map for April: Juniors

A year from now you’ll be finalizing your college decision, and to get to that point with confidence, now is the time to start preparing. Your first priority should continue to be your academics–get the best grades you can in your current classes, and on AP exams if you’re taking any.  But there are things I recommend doing this spring and summer to make the application process less stressful later.

Currently I’m checking in with juniors to hear about their spring break campus visits as they start to solidify their college lists. Continue your online research into colleges you’re interested in and if you’re planning summer visits, consider doing them in late August. College semesters will usually start while you’re still on break, and seeing what a normal day on campus looks like is a great way to evaluate whether a school is a good fit.

This is also the time to request letters of recommendation. Your school counselor will generally be writing a letter and may require a brag sheet or meeting to discuss what to include. Check in with him or her to find out what procedures you’ll need to follow. You’ll also want to ask two teachers in core academic subjects. Some teachers limit how many letters they’ll write, so ask now and get these lined up before summer break.

You can also begin filling out the Common App’s Profile, Family, Education, and Testing sections, and start putting in placeholders for the Activities section. The system will update for the Class of 2026 over the summer, but this information will roll over if you enter it now. Hold off on essay writing until school wraps up, but I strongly recommend using the summer to work on your personal essay  and college-specific writing requirements. To help you through the process, I’m offering application and essay workshops starting in June. Each includes a webinar plus a personalized follow-up session, and registration is open now.   And finally, I’m enrolling students for comprehensive advising packages; if this is of interest, let’s connect.