It’s the summer before your senior year. It sounds like a great time to take it easy, but working with your private college counselor on a few simple tasks can greatly improve your college readiness before school resumes in the fall.
Finalize your college list and create a calendar
Hopefully your junior year of high school wrapped up with more normalcy than your sophomore year did. It’s true that you have an entire year of high school still ahead of you, but college is only a year away. Start your private college counseling early — most college applications for fall 2022 admissions open up on August 1, 2021. That’s just over one month away! Your private college counselor helps you manage your time — deadlines for college applications typically fall between the end of November and February. But it’s best to get your applications in early, especially if you want your private college counselor to help you with scholarships.
Now is the time to finalize your list of schools in order of preference. Your private college counselor knows schools and can review with you the pros and cons of your dream school, your preferred schools, backup schools, and more. What are you looking to get out of your college experience? Do your top schools align with your goals? Submitting additional applications is easier with your own private college counselor. Weigh all your options are before committing to a school.
Organize a calendar
Don’t overlook this helpful, classic key to success. In high school, most students don’t keep track of assignments and due dates with calendars. Time management with your private college counselor takes the weight of remembering off of your shoulders. With college in your future, a calendar is an essential planning tool. The summer before your senior year is the last chance for you and your private college counselor to organize your application deadlines, test dates and any other important events into a dedicated calendar before you are overwhelmed with school work in September. There are excellent, free online or mobile app calendars that are very user-friendly. Your private college counselor can show you excellent free online calendars and mobile apps for you to keep track.
Prepare for fall SATs and ACTs
Your private college counselor can help you sign up for exams this summer, so that you can spend more time focusing on school and college and scholarship applications this fall. The next SAT testing date is August 28, and the next SAT exam dates for fall 2021 are October 2, November 6 and December 4. Test prep with your private college counselor is key to your best high score.
The time to prepare is now, so don’t delay. Our private college counselors offer outstanding SAT test prep and ACT test prep . Don’t let fear of tests or lack of confidence overwhelm you. Your own private college counselor eases your test anxiety with proven skills to cope and feel calm and ready on test day.
Keep track of scholarship opportunities
Have you been keeping track of scholarships that you plan to apply for? If not, it’s not too late, but time is running out. Work with your private college counselor to find both merit-based and need-based scholarships that fit your unique experiences as a student. Our excellent private college counselors offer more personal attention for this very important aspect of planning for college, especially what should be prioritized considering what’s available, upcoming deadlines and your resume highlights.
Have your resume and essay templates ready to go
An excellent resume is a must-have for college-bound seniors, so start or review yours with your private college counselor early.
If you wait until school ramps up again in the fall before you polish up your resume, it might end up being less than perfect if you’re distracted and in a rush. Your private college counselor knows what schools are looking for, so summer is THE best time to craft your resume. It should include educational accomplishments (GPA, AP courses taken, etc), extracurricular activities, relevant test scores, volunteer experience, work history and skills and talents that set you apart. Make it stand out by stating your career goals in your introduction. All of this should be in a professional resume format that your private college counselor helps you prepare.