<p>At my school, next year I'm going to be taking a class called Princeton Review, which is preparation floor the SAT, and ACT. Our teacher told us out would be best to take the SAT offered in June, and that ACT in April. My question is, since my teacher said we will apply to college the fall of our senior year, can I just start applying after I get the results from both in the summer, or should I just wait? Would it be to early to apply in the summer of 2014?(p.s. I graduate in 2015)</p>
<p>No, it’s not too early, but the dates your teacher gave you are the first times s/he recommends you take them. If you’re not happy with your score, you’ll still have a few more dates to take them before even the earliest deadlines, so it’s worth your while to wait before submitting an application. There isn’t really a tangible benefit to applying that early (if they even accept the app then) though of course organizationally it’s a good idea to start on the apps as early as possible.</p>
<p>You have to wait for the applications to come out, which usually happens in the fall or late in the summer. Many colleges require essays, writing supplements, teacher recommendations, and transcripts sent by your high school. Some colleges use the Common App, and I think that goes live in August.</p>
<p>Some students also aren’t happy with their scores in their first attempts, so they take one or both of the tests again in the fall after studying more over the summer. Also, if the colleges you are applying to require SAT Subject tests, you have to schedule and take those. The information above is correct, colleges do not start releasing applications to fill out until fall, and for those that take the Common App it is usually in August. </p>
<p>Some things you can do prior to the release of the applications:
- Work on your test scores
- Make a spreadsheet of all of your extra curricular activities and honors/awards if you have any. Figure out what year you did each, and about how many weeks per year and hours/week. Include stuff like volunteer work and outside employment, too. The Common App asks for that, and it can be kind of a pain to pull together.
- You will need one or two teacher recommendations, depending on where you apply. Think about who you want to ask (I recommend identifying 3 teachers, what if one is unexpectedly not at your school come fall?). You probably won’t ask for the recommendations until fall, but think about who to ask. And be very hardworking and well behaved in their classes for the rest of this year.
- If you haven’t visited colleges and/or run the net price calculators with your parents, that is a good use of your time this spring and summer.</p>
<p>Common App doesn’t come out until around the end of July. If you want to start then, go for it! But there’s really no benefit to applying earlier or later with the exception of some (mostly state) schools that offer rolling admissions except for getting them out of the way. Early admissions deadline is usually November 1st, so getting a head-start won’t hurt.</p>
<p>Normally I would recommend a student start their Common App essays if they want to get a jump on the process. However, the Common App changed their prompts last year as part of their upgrade (which you are very lucky you did not have to experience first hand!). I would want to make sure they do not tweak them again (I happen to think the current prompts are awful… probably just wishful thinking on my part that they would change them, but one can hope…).</p>