Phew! We made it through October. If you are a Junior or Senior, I know this one was a tough season for you. In November, we get to look back and finish the semester reflectively and with purpose. This checklist will help you recalibrate and focus on specific tasks or goals connected to your journey to college.
Freshmen
Reflect on your first quarter grades. Often, high school is a big jump from middle school, and the habits you created in middle school might need some adjustment. Reviewing your grades from the first quarter helps you figure out what you need to work on and build better study habits now. Take the second quarter to adjust where needed, and if you have any questions on how to study or build a realistic study plan, we are here to help!
Explore service opportunities and extracurricular activities. If you haven’t already, explore different service opportunities to invest in your community, earn service hours, and figure out more about how you’d personally like to give back. Service is a key component of college applications during your Senior year, and meaningful investment over time is something admissions counselors notice. The holidays are a great time to see where you’d like to give back since many non-profits have ample opportunities to get involved this time of year!
Sophomores
For you, the job is the same as the freshmen, but you have one more task.
Check your PSAT score report. You most likely took the PSAT in October, and they typically come back in late October to mid-November. When they do, look at the scores and the breakdown, not just the composite score. This test has zero impact on your future or grades, so you can just look at it as an opportunity to learn more about how you take tests without studying for them. Use this as a helpful baseline as you think about the SAT or ACT and which test you think is better for you.
Juniors
If you took an SAT or ACT in October, you most likely do not have a test scheduled this month unless administered by your high school. This month is a good time to reflect on your score and make a game plan for your upcoming SAT or ACT.
Keep your grades up. At this point in the semester, focus on continuing your coursework and making it to the winter break with a strong ending – it’s often a challenging year, and now is the time to double down and do your best!
Create a test prep plan. If you took the PSAT, SAT, or ACT this fall, use these data to figure out the best plan based on your schedule, goals, and current school workload. If you haven’t taken any tests, use this month to take a full practice test or register for the December test.
Seniors
You are in the homestretch for the bulk of the work, Seniors. November is packed with deadlines, so keep an eye on when application deadlines are for each university, as well as their materials deadlines. Many universities require everything to be due by mid-November if you applied Early Decision and Early Action.
Finish applications if you have Early Decision or Early Action applications outstanding. After applying, check your portals for each university and ensure that you have submitted all relevant materials. This includes self-reporting your transcripts via STARS or SPARK for state universities in Florida, submitting your test scores officially from College Board or ACT.org, and confirming your high school has the right tools to submit your official transcript. Additionally, if your application requires teacher recommendation letters, ensure these have been submitted appropriately.
Complete the FAFSA and/or the CSS profile if your schools require it. There is still time before the FAFSA deadline, but submitting it earlier is better – institutional aid is often first-come, first-served. Particularly for private universities awarding institutional aid, the CSS profile deadline is important. Each university sets its own deadline for the CSS profile, so if you are applying to any private universities that use this (and they most likely do), please fill this out this month!
Keep working on regular decision essays. If you have any universities to which you are not applying early, keep workshopping the materials and submit as soon as you can. The earlier you are done, the more relieved you might feel.
Start researching outside scholarships. If you are done with the application part, start researching scholarships. Many of them have spring deadlines, and now is a good time to figure out which are better fits so you can create a plan for writing the appropriate essays or creating the content needed for each scholarship.
What to do next…
I hope this is helpful as you are working on your journey to college. If you have any questions, we are happy to share more about the process and support you through it! Our initial consultation is free, and we’d love to chat.
