What Your Rising High School Senior Should Be Doing This Summer - Part 2

As a continuation of Part 1 of this series, below are three more crucial tasks rising seniors need to complete this summer in order to set themselves up for college application success. Some students are unaware that they can and should be working on their actual college applications–including essays and the Common Application–during the summer. Others intend to begin working but unfortunately procrastinate, whether due to anxiety, lack of motivation, or general lack of urgency, as even early application deadlines seem to be a long time away. However, the more work and reflective thinking that a student can accomplish during the summer, the better off they will be overall: more time spent on applications translates into more nuanced, polished work. This guide delineates three more important steps that rising seniors can take before the start of the school year.

Begin Writing Essays

The summer before senior year is a critical time to begin writing essays. The personal statement—a piece of writing that is submitted to essentially every college a student applies to—often takes students the most amount of time to execute successfully. Some students even begin working on their personal statements in their English classes or in college counseling workshops in the spring of junior year. Regardless of whether they have gotten an early start on writing their personal statements or not, all rising seniors should take time to go through the complete writing process– from brainstorming, to drafting several iterations, to arriving at a final edited version, vetted by a few trusted friends, family members, or mentors– during the summer.?

Though the personal statement should be their first priority, rising seniors can also write their Common App Activities List, a ten-item resume that concisely summarizes their extracurriculars, work experiences, family responsibilities, summer activities, and other kinds of endeavors and accomplishments. The format and style of the Activities List are highly specific, so students will want to be mindful of these requirements and write their lists such that they convey as much impact and information as possible within the limited space they are allotted.

Additionally, rising seniors can browse, think about, and begin responding to supplemental essay prompts. Most colleges release their supplemental prompts in August, but students who have the time and motivation to work on supplements earlier can do so, as prompts rarely change from year to year and common types of essays can and should be strategically recycled. The ideal number of supplements to complete during the summer will highly depend on a student’s college list, projected time commitments in the fall and winter, an honest evaluation of the student’s writing ability, and other factors. However, drafting and polishing creative, well-considered supplements for even just one or two schools will put many students in a good place for fall.?

Create a Common App Account?

The Common Application officially opens on August 1, 2022 for the 2022-2023 application cycle. Students can create an account, add all colleges that they intend to apply to, and begin to fill out their personal and demographic information. Accuracy is absolutely essential, so if students are unsure about how to respond to a particular question, they should flag the relevant question or section and ask their guidance counselor for clarification. Before submitting each application, all sections of the Common Application should be double-checked by both the student and by at least one adult (parent, guidance counselor, teacher, or other mentor) who has the time to carefully scan each part of the application and review for clarity, accuracy, and formatting. A parent or guardian should review all family-related sections to make sure the student has provided correct information.

Create a Fall Game Plan?

As the end of summer approaches, students should take stock of the work they have accomplished and make a long-term plan for fall. They should carefully review and take note of each of their college’s application requirements, including essays, interviews, official test score reports, etc., and their respective deadlines. Using this information, rising seniors can map out their goals for application work, summarizing what they should accomplish each month and ideally, even each week, to comfortably finish applications in advance of deadlines. Beyond making a schedule to manage their application work, rising seniors should also make a note to check in with their guidance counselor and recommenders at the beginning of the school year to talk about their college list, letters of recommendation status, and any specific tasks that their school requires. Lastly, if students have any unique circumstances impacting their college processes such as athletic recruitment, applications to conservatories, applications to international schools, etc., notable deadlines and updates should be clearly communicated to counselors and accounted for in their personal game plans.

Although seniors can be resistant or anxious about making decisions concerning their college process early, accomplishing these tasks during the summer months will save time and prevent stress later on. Students who start now and stay organized will have time to catch errors, put together high-quality work, and think through every stage of the process, from where they want to apply to early to which creative topics will allow them to present their most authentic selves in their essays. By making these important strides in their application work now, rising seniors will teach themselves valuable time management skills, remove some stress from their incredibly busy fall and winter seasons, and give themselves the best possible chances at successful application outcomes.?