For High School Seniors, this year, particularly the Fall, deadlines will be what they live by. While making sure school assignments are in on time, these next months are filled with non negotiable calendar dates for the college application process.
External Examinations
Standardized Tests (SAT, ACT)
Keep in mind test dates for standardized testing are firm (SAT, ACT). All testing dates come with registration dates (kind of like making a plane reservation very far in advance with no discount), and if applying for accommodations, there are two dates to keep in mind; one for accommodations request, and once that request comes in, the other to register for test dates (once accommodations are approved, there is no need to apply again). However, double check, as policies change from year to year.
AP and IB Exams
AP and IB Exams generally take place in May and will get hectic with study schedules. These exams are paramount for those wanting places at schools abroad, credit at US universities. Your school will have a registration date for these exams and be sure to register on time with the school. For students taking AP exams independently, be aware that you will have to find a location to take the exams and it will be up to you to find a location and register with a host school’s timeframe.
College Application Time
Rather than use just an electronic calendar application, it might be a wise idea to use a family calendar in a central location so there can always be a visual reminder of every deadline looming ahead.
Fall to Holiday Time
- Students should know which colleges are their safety, target and reach, and what their deadlines will be. That is, will students apply Early Decision, Early Action (EA) or Regular Decision. Early Decision (ED) is often November 1 or November 15 and an occasional October 15th (binding application), Early Action dates are often the same dates as ED, but those applications are not binding, but some schools do have caveats, so check with the school’s website. Regular Decision can be December 31 or often mid-January. Restricted Early Action comes with some very high profile schools like Stanford which restricts students from applying to other or certain private schools but not public schools. You will have to check their websites for specific details. One other application restriction: Restricted Early Action (REA) by several selective universities where they allow only public universities for Early Admissions and no EA to private institutions. Be sure to look at these selective schools websites for their specific rules.
- Keep in mind your high school vacation times: Thanksgiving closure, Winter holiday closure, national holidays; these are days counselors are generally unavailable. If living internationally, country holidays can often close your counseling office, and your counselors may be unavailable and by their contractual agreements, they are not required to be available.
- Remember to register for those final standardized testing dates. Check with the universities to see when the last date schools will accept these test scores.
- Gathering materials: Letters of recommendation (LOR), when to ask for transcripts, portfolios, any material a school might ask for (i.e. audition tapes, resume, etc.). Find out from your high school when THEIR application deadline will be (remember, they will shut down during certain holiday periods and some schools close the application period after a certain date, and school counselors may not be required to respond to student emails)
- Federal Student Aid: Starting October 1, Federal Student Aid application will be available to you and your parents (FAFSA)
- Complete the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, which is on line and used by some colleges to determine eligibility for their aid dollars-CSS profile may have their own deadline date and aligns with Early Action, Early Decision, etc.
- Give your teachers plenty of lead-time for Letters of Recommendation. Hopefully, you asked them in Spring of Junior Year
- Get all essays completed – give yourself time, as you will need to draft draft draft and will want to have assistance with revision and edits
- Complete your applications by November if possible, there is nothing better than being done before holidays
- Keep copies of everything-back everything up
- Give your counselor the proper forms for second semester grades, as colleges generally wish to see these
- Keep active all through senior year- in other words no “Senior Slump”. Colleges have been known to reverse decisions based on bad grades or behavior. Students who have had a downturn in grades have also been placed on probation at the start of the school year.
- Attend all college nights, even if working with an Independent Educational Consultant, attend all counseling sessions, even if working with an Independent Educational Consultant
- Think how great you will feel once everything is complete!
- Remember that May 1 is reply date for Early Action and Regular Decision (Early Decision is binding, so you will have made that commitment in December and will have to pull any application submitted to college)
A note on Early Decision: Your counselor at school, you and your parents sign off on the Common Application that you are committing to Early Decision. While some articles state that Early Decision is not legally binding, there is an ethical component involved with Early Decision. There are questions you and your family must ask of yourselves: Is this the school of your dreams? Are you willing to put forth the money (accumulatively, more than a down payment towards a home by the end of the four years) involved in Early Decision? Is it worth this much money in the long run? Have a frank discussion with your family regarding affordability. And, a reminder about your counselor’s signature and what that means to the counselor and your school. Please discuss this with your counselor.
Current SAT Test Dates and Deadlines
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/dates.deadlines
SAT Registration:
Information about Score Choice
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/help-center/when-can-i-use-score-choice
Fees for SAT and Subject Tests
Scores – SAT Suite | College Board
SAT Accommodations
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration/additional-registration-options/accommodations
ACT Tests
Tests and Deadlines, Fees and Registration
https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/test-dates.html
Current ACT Fees and Sending to Colleges
https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/scores/sending-your-scores.html
ACT Accommodations
https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/accommodations.html
For both ACT and SAT: read with care their requirements, and note that their requirements are fluid and can change.
University websites: read with care their deadlines and requirements- as you, the student are ultimately responsible for deadlines