I know many of you are in the thick of test prep and I hope you have a plan in place that’s working for you. Remember also that there should be less pressure around test scores than in the past because of the test-optional movement. Currently there are more than 1400 colleges (about 80%) that have already announced they will be test-optional for your class, and that number continues to increase. Of course there are some colleges that will be requiring the SAT or ACT, like the Florida and Georgia public colleges and universities. Other colleges may have a test-optional policy but prefer to see student scores. If the policy is not clear, this is a great question to ask on a tour or in an online Q and A session. The information you get from specific schools can help you gauge how important scores are, what kind of scores will make you competitive, and how you can adjust your approach.

If you’re hoping to do college visits during spring break you should be planning now, because many tour schedules fill up during these peak periods. Keep in mind that professional development and administrative days are great opportunities to visit colleges as well, since you won’t have school but colleges are in session as usual. You can get a great sense of campus life by seeing students on a regular day.

Another optional to-do is to create a Common App account and start filling out the basic information, like the Profile and Family sections.  This doesn’t have to be complete or polished until the summer, but overall the application is a big project. It can be helpful to get a head start rather than trying to do it all at once, and it gives you a chance to get comfortable with the platform.

For one-on-one assistance with choosing colleges to visit, strategizing about standardized tests, and preparing for the application process, I hope you’ll contact me to learn about individual advising and discuss how I can be helpful during this exciting time.