Having spent quite a bit of time on CC this summer, it is very common to hear seniors (and parents of seniors) discuss the overwhelming effort students put forth during the senior fall with applications, FAFSA and scholarships. I wonder if there are any steps a junior can take related specifically to getting a jump start on this? There are TONS of suggestions on CC about what to do during the junior year to strengthen chances of acceptance- test prep, activity suggestions… but very little related to getting a jump on the application process specifically. Is there anything that can be done on the front end, any essay work, FAFSA work, application pre-work that can help avoid some of the senior crush?
I’d say one thing that can be done is securing teacher recommendations. However, I would suggest asking for them toward the end of junior year, as they will be writing recommendations for current seniors now.
Everything else mentioned like FAFSA and essays are specific to the year the student graduates. A junior shouldn’t fill out a 2018-2019 FAFSA, but you can note the information needed to complete the FAFSA. They shouldn’t write essays on this year’s topics when the topics change every year.
First, put together a draft of the list of schools you will likely apply to in some chart or spreadsheet. For each school, note admissions requirements (e.g. transcripts, testing, LoR’s) and deadline dates, whether they are Common App or not and run a Net Price Calculation to see if they are even affordable. If schools require or recommend SAT2’s, the best time to take some of those tests may be the end of junior year when the material is still fresh.
Go through the Common App and start completing/compiling the info you can already answer (e.g. family background, educational background, classes taken, self reported tests, honors, EC’s). Non-Common App schools ask for the same info. Start considering who to ask for LoR’s and ask them before the end of junior year. The “popular” teachers usually get inundated in the fall. Put together an info sheet (activities/accomplishments) to give to your eventual LoR writers, including your GC. Start to put together FASFA info. You may need to update it, but you’ll know what you have to look for. Essay questions are similar from year to year for both the Common App and college specific questions. While you may not necessarily want to draft them now, at least have some familiarity.
Set a date to start narrowing and sorting you list during the summer after you get junior year grades and test scores.
I’d say the most important thing to do in junior year is figure out what kind of school the student wants to attend. The first step, in the spring of sophomore or fall of junior year, is to visit different types of colleges. We did a big urban university and a small suburban LAC, neither of which we expected out kids to apply to. My kids each gravitated more to one than the other. Have them think about why the school they picked as closer to what they want appeals to them.
Do an assessment of what kids of environment works best for them. Statements with a 1-5 rating scale. I saw such a quiz from a consulting company once but I couldn’t find it when it was time for my latest kid so I just made up my own. Try to keep the questions neutral and ask your kid to be brutally honest and answer from the gut, not worrying if their answers conflict. I included questions like “I like to be anonymous”, “I know what I want to major in”, “I want to attend football games”, and “Prestige matters to me.” Use that to help narrow down types of schools.
Many schools have kids write self-reflective essays in school. If your school doesn’t, encourage your kid to try it. Writing about oneself is very different from writing a research essay so it makes some people uncomfortable. If it’s not easy for your child you can encourage them to try journaling to get some experience with writing about their life. It’ll make it easy to write the Common App essay later and may even help them to come up with a topic.
If they’re able to identify specific schools have them do a little online searching to identify the plusses and minuses of schools. Does the school have a language requirement? Excellent vegan food? A required thesis? This can help a student be more targeted when they visit the schools in the spring of junior or fall of senior year.
Get your kid comfortable with bragging about him or herself. I don’t mean being obnoxious, but leaving modesty behind and letting their light shine in a conversation with an adult. That’s tough for some kids who have grown up practicing humility. Help them to learn how to highlight their strengths and accomplishments so they can be comfortable doing so in any interviews they may do. Many larger schools don’t require an interview for admission but even some of these ask student to interview for scholarships.
They can start with some of the application questions early. Have them print out a copy of last year’s Common App and fill it in. My kids didn’t know things like what year their parents graduated from college so they had to ask. They also had questions about how to list their hours for EC’s. It’ll save only a little time later but every little bit helps. If they’ll be eligible for FA have them get aquatinted with the FA forms.
I wouldn’t bother creating a Common App account before the August 1 new year rollout. You can find the current year’s CA by googling “Common App pdf.” Have your kid look at the questions but not work too hard to come up with answers. Sometimes having the questions in mind will spark a moment of realization when they’re doing something unconnected to college work, e.g.,“Gee, I really love hiking. I always do my best thinking out in the woods… Hey, wait a second. Isn’t there a Common App question about that?”
ETA, in my experience the CA prompts change extremely little from year to year. Furthermore a good essay can be crafted to fit multiple prompts. The new CA prompt even include a “topic of your choosing” option.
We did the spreadsheet BKSquared recommends during the summer before senior year. We included deadlines and strategy notes like whether it was better to apply early to certain schools and which superstore the ACT. I agree that asking teachers for recs. at the end of junior year is best.
Thanks! This has already given me much to think on. Our son is, like many according to posts on CC, scheduled to the max with athletics, academics and the other stuff. Getting some thinking going around the application process feels like a good step. Appreciate those who took the time to post here!
Great question: I think it is usually pretty evident by spring break of 11th where your child will be applying–in a general sense–what levels of schools they will be applying to. I would-- thinking way ahead --have my kid take some practice SATs or ACTs the summer before 11th to get a sense of how they will do a baseline. Even with a 3.8 there is a huge difference between an ACT of 30 and 34 with a 3.8. Start thinking strategically about their junior and senior year schedules. To get a jump on the application process I would spend the summer after 11th preparing for and taking any necessary tests as well as completing the common app essay. Further, I would find schools that seem like a fit both for academic interests and admissions wise and then start cross matching for cost/aid evaluations. End of 11th ask teachers about recommendations.
The beginning of junior year is a good time to focus on figuring out what you want. Review all of the commitments that the kid has outside the school day. Are any of them fillers, stuff that he’s only doing to pad the resume but doesn’t really care about? Those are wastes of energy and should be cut. Volunteer work that he doesn’t like, sports that he’s just not into, instruments he plays badly, competitions where he doesn’t excel. He doesn’t need to keep doing it. It can be hard for a parent to give up on something you’ve sunk time and money teaching your kid, but in the end if he’s only doing something to please you he will never be as good at it as someone who is doing it because he has a true passion.
Focus on excelling on the things he really enjoys doing and has a talent for. I see that mistake being made with one of my kid’s best friends and I feel so sad for him.
Great advice already given.
I would also add that the common app essay prompts for the following year do get released prior to the app opening. My daughter had her main common app essay written and edited before the end of junior year.
DD also kept detailed notes for every school on her application list. That helped her tremendously when writing the “why us” essays and keeping some of the details fresh.
Keep an accomplishments/awards list and resume. As your student gets recognized of adds an activity, make sure it is added to the list.
Grades and test scores are self reported for many schools now, so keep all report cards and test score together from 9th grade on.
Enjoy the process. It can be fun!
Get your testing and visiting done so you aren’t still scrambling to finalize your list in the fall. Some schools have students start the Common App essay as a school assign in the spring — not a bad idea for anyone to start then. My kids made a list of all their activities, honors, and awards from 9-12, including summer in preparation for the Common App, too. Check out the format so you know what you need to put in. And get organized for the fall - a spreadsheet of schools and deadlines was mentioned above, I encourage that.
Apart from that, my kids booked their senior photo shoots for summer before senior year. That yearbook deadline comes up surprisingly fast in the fall, so having it done is one less senior worry.
Take advantage of weekend open houses for juniors in the fall. It’s a great time to visit schools. Many schools do Saturday or Sunday events in the fall.
Focus on ACT or SAT prep, getting that first test in before spring.
Run NPCs on colleges he’s interested in.
Make sure he gets enough sleep and is focused on grades as a priority vs ECs.