HI, i’m about to finish my junior year of high school and I was planning on applying in august. Should I get my rec letters now? What other things will I need?
August is on the very early end which is great but wont make a huge difference unless schools have rolling admissions . It’s usually encouraged to ask for rec letters in person (and then follow up with a thank you email that coincidentally reminds the teacher to write the letter). You definitely want to beat the rush of kids asking for recs so I’d recommend asking at the beginning of the year in person. You can look what colleges require as part of their applications on each school’s site. Generally test scores, high school transcript, letters of rec, and essays/app are common ones. It may be difficult to get a transcript before school starts for this year.
If you would like to get a head start on your app then work on the essays. This part of the app takes the most time to refine, the rest is mostly requesting things from other people. Additionally, if needed you could study and re-take (or take) the SAT/ACT.
Also look into schools that offer Restrictive Early Action, Early Action and Early Decision. Acceptance rates are generally higher for these pools than regular decision (although arguably the pool is more competitive). People generally use early apps one of two ways:
- Apply to your absolute favorite school that you can afford and would love to attend. Have a % higher chance of getting in. If you get in and are satisfied then you don’t need to apply anywhere else!
- Apply to a school that you like quite a bit and can afford. Get in and take off other schools from your list that you like less/cost more. You can apply to fewer schools in the long run.
If your school has a college guidance counselor (or a good guidance counselor in general) then make an appointment with them at the beginning of the year.
There is no advantage to submitting your application in August. The only exception is that for rolling admissions schools it is helpful to get those out early in the fall. Likely your transcripts and recommendations won’t be ready until late Sept./early Oct.
Of course be sure your list has a range of reach, match and safety schools that are affordable and that you would be happy to attend.
Here are some things to consider.
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At the end of this year (May/June) ask the teachers if they would be willing to write positive recommendation for you. It is good to have your recommendations lined up before the summer.
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Meet with your guidance counselor at the end of this year to go over the list of schools you plan to apply to, your senior year schedule etc. Ask to see a copy of the transcript that gets sent to colleges and verify it is correct.
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Write a very good draft of your essay over the summer. Have your favorite English teacher read it over for you soon after you get back to school It is worth getting a second set of trusted eyes of your essay to correct any grammar errors etc. You can write some of the supplements as well.
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In the early fall send your standardized test scores to the schools you will apply to.
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Submit your applications when you are confident that they are complete and show you in the best light. (ex. consider if you want to re-take standardized tests, wait for first semester grades etc.).
If you google “college application timeline” you might find some helpful ideas.
Wow, you are going to submit application once the CommonApp is up? You better take your time to prepare your application and essays really well but apply at least a few weeks before the application deadline.
I definitely think it’s best to ask for recommendations around April/May of your Junior year, especially if you go to a really big school! Make sure you figure out if you need 1 or 2 recs, if any programs you’re interested in (e.g. engineering) require specific subject teachers to write your letters, or anything like that. Good luck!
If you already have teachers in mind, ask them before the year ends so that they can write it over the summer and feel less pressure. Ask them if they want a copy of your resume or any other materials that may help them write a recommendation.
As for applying early, use this summer to write your common app essays. If you already have a list of colleges that you are applying to (including safety/match/reach schools), then you can look up their supplemental prompts and begin on those. Some schools may have not released the prompts for the next year yet, but usually you can make most essays fit into a prompt with a few edits.
Also take this summer to do test prep for SAT/ACT/SAT II’s if you don’t have your desired scores yet.
You don’t need to apply in August unless it is a school with rolling admissions. Typically, Early Action (non-binding) and Early Decision (binding) deadlines are around November 1. In fact, the Common App resets every summer so don’t make an account (unless you just want to look around) until they open the application for your school year.