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It would be nice to just float aimlessly in warm, clear water. And yes, you can do that. But while you're staring at the clouds this summer, take a few minutes to think about how you will tackle the college application process. A little bit of planning will make September less stressful. Here 's an overview of what happens, year by year. The idea is to break the work into manageable steps. 9th GRADE Focus on your classes. Enjoy sports, clubs, activities, jobs, volunteer work. 10th GRADE Keep a record of everything you do. Use Google docs. Lean into the activities and academic areas you love. Take the PSAT and the Pre-ACT. Study for SAT or ACT (summer after after 10th grade) 1 1th GRADE Take the SAT and ACT. Maybe more than once.  Tour schools . Either in person or virtual. Take on leadership roles in activities. Get letters of recommendation in the spring Create a resume and LinkedIn profile . Think about how would you “pitch” yourself? What is different about you? 12th GRADE Summer before senior year, start applications. Do your activities list for the Common App and the main essay . November: Apply Early Decision (ED) or Early Action (EA). Or both. December: Apply Regular Decision (RD). Apply to roughly 12 schools: 4 “safety”, 4 “likely,” and 4 “reach.”

The Activities List on the Common App is where I recommend Juniors start working once the school year ends. Developing the list of ten activities helps the rest of the application take shape. It reveals themes that you can carry through the essays. Some people refer to this as your "narrative," or your "story." Sign up now for a one-on-one workshop for this portion of the Common App. Contact me through the link here . Now for some advice about filling out this part of the application. It takes time to think through what you want to include, the order of the items, and how you describe each activity. So be prepared for multiple drafts and revisions. Here's what you're asked to fill out: Activity type : There are a lot of options here. This includes obvious choices like sports teams, music and work. But there are other options too, like "Religious" and "Family Responsibilities." There's also a catch-all "Other Club/Activity," so there's a way to fit in almost anything that you spend a significant amount of time doing. Position/Leadership description: You're limited to 50 characters. If you have a title, be sure to show that here. Organization name : Limited to 100 characters. Activity description : This is perhaps the most important part. It's where you show what you accomplished. You're limited to 150 characters. Participation grade levels : In other words, how many years have you been involved with this activity. If you can show consistency over several years, that's great. But this isn't necessarily required. Timing of participation : Was this something you did during school, during vacations, or year round? Hours spent per week : This is self-explanatory. Just give your best approximation. Weeks spent per year : Same as above. Do you intend to participate in a similar activity in college : This is a yes or no answer. If you are able to say that you want to continue in college, this is a helpful way to show the schools what you will be doing once you're on campus.

It's mid March, and for most college applicants, that means decisions are just around the corner. Students who applied Regular Decision should starting hearing from schools in the coming days and weeks. For high school seniors, and their families, this can be a time of extreme uncertainty. There isn't a clear route to managing any stress or anxiety you may feel during this waiting game. There's no magic bullet to make it any easier. But here are some things applicants can consider: Check your email and application portals regularly. Parents will remember getting college decisions in the mail. Today everything comes via each college's portal. An email will usually alert a candidate that there is new information in the portal. When will this happen? Some schools will tell you what day and time they're releasing results. You can also check a school's social media account to see if there is a specific date mentioned there. What are the possible answers? I've written about this before . You could get accepted, rejected or waitlisted. If you've been waitlisted, and still want to be considered, you will need to indicate that you want to stay on the waitlist. Write a letter of continued interest to the school. I wrote about that here . Think through where you want to be when you open a college decision. At home? Alone, or with family members? Talk to your family about how you might react, both to good news, and disappointing news. It can help to envision all sorts of possibilities. Finally, be considerate of your friends and classmates. Not everyone will get the news they want. Maybe think twice before posting something on social media or wearing a school sweatshirt to class.

So you don't like your school. It happens. We all find ourselves in situations that aren't what we hoped for. That's fine. You aren't stuck. You can transfer. True, the process of applying to college again is daunting. But you can do it. So start off by learning the timeline and process. Things are different than applying as a freshman. Here are some key questions and answers: When are applications due? If you are transferring for the fall semester, deadlines are usually in February or March. If you're transferring for the spring semester, deadlines are in the fall. Each school is slightly different, so check each college's websites. How do I apply? You're using the Common Application again, but the format and questions are different. When you log in, click "Transfer Student" and this will populate the sections you'll need to fill out. This page on the Common App site has transfer resources. This page is helpful as well . Do my credits count? Likely answer is "yes." Again, each school will have different requirements, so you'll need to look at this closely. Want to talk about transferring? Now is the time. Reach out to me as soon as possible through the contact form on this website.

So you got deferred. Or maybe later this year you'll get waitlisted . It's frustrating and disappointing to get bad news. But don't consider this the end of the road. Sending a "letter of continued interest," or LOCI, is an important way to show the school that you are a strong candidate, and if admitted you would attend. If you were deferred, the college is saying they will reconsider your application during the regular application round. So here's what to do: Check the college's instructions in your applicant portal. Make sure you follow any specific guidance. Talk to the college counseling office at your high school. See if they have any specific suggestions. For example, do they think an additional letter of recommendation could help? Re-read your original application. Think about what you already shared with the college, and what has changed since you hit submit. The LOCI should include important updates: recent grades; new standardized test scores; honors or awards; academic projects; extracurricular activities; and significant change of circumstances. Explain why you love the school. This is similar to the essay you wrote about why the college is the perfect fit for you. State that the college remains your first choice, and if you're accepted you will attend. This letter, which you send as an email to the admissions office, is just one more step in the right direction. Soon enough, the spring will be here, and you'll finally have some more answers from schools. Until then, congratulate yourself on reaching this milestone.

I struggled with math. Other subjects were fine for me... but math? That was my Achilles' heel. Fortunately, my parents found me a tutor. Having someone outside the family made all the difference. No tears. If you want to find a tutor for your child, I have a small team (i.e., our two college aged sons) who are excellent math and science tutors. They work with high school students remotely, over Zoom. They have a tried and true method. So if your child needs help, send me a note. I'll connect you. In addition to tutors, I definitely recommend that your child go to a teacher's "office hours." Or form a study group with friends. And don't wait until the day before a test. Get a jump on this across the entire semester. It never hurts to ask for help.

Every writer needs a proofreader. Book writers have editors and publishers. Journalists have editors. High school students writing college application essays are no exception. Why? You often miss your own mistakes when you concentrate on something for a long time. Typos become a blur. You might not recognize a grammar error. Your logic or argument might even need some tweaks. An editor will help you see all of this. Regular decision deadlines are coming up, so now is the time for applicants to get those essays in shape. As you do this, don't go it alone. You need another set of eyes before you hit submit. Here's how to get started on proofreading: Print your work. Look at your essays on paper. Take a pen and actually make changes by hand. Then go back to your essay to input those changes. Read your work out loud to yourself. You might find extra words, missing words, or even sentences that don't make any sense. Take a break from writing. After you've written a draft, go do something else. Exercise. Meet a friend. Take a walk. When you come back to your essays, you will see things you didn't notice before. Enlist an editor. Friends, teachers, writing coaches and family members are all there to proofread. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

It would be nice if everything always went as planned. In the ideal world, you pick your favorite school, apply early action or early decision, and get accepted in December. End of story. Unfortunately, things don't always work that way. You might get deferred. You might get rejected. As a result, for better or worse, you need a back-up plan. What are you going to do in case you still need to keep applying to colleges? You could just take a wait and see approach. You could decide you'll only work on other applications after you get your ED or EA result. Or... you could start to plan ahead. Think about applying Early Decision 2 . Do you have a second top choice? If so, see if the school has an ED 2 deadline in January. Those results come out in February. Make a list of the schools you would apply to Regular Decision . The list of schools should be balanced between "reach," "target," and "likely." (People sometimes use different terminology, but the idea is always the same). Some schools that are really hard to get into; some schools that are in the right range for you; and some schools you think you will definitely get into. In total, aim for 10 to 12 schools. Write some of the supplemental essays for your RD schools . It can help to have a head start. Best case scenario, you'll never use them. Not ready to write? Just make a spreadsheet . A list of every college with the corresponding supplemental question will help you see patterns across the different applications. You might see that the type of answer you wrote for one school is applicable to a question from another school. Bingo! So worst case scenario, the task ahead might not be so bad after all.

Parents likely remember a time when college application results came in the mail. You could almost guess the answer based on the size of the envelope. Everything is different now. Students often know the date a school is releasing decisions. They'll get the news first via email and a school portal. Later, the snail mail arrives. So today, there's a moment of anticipation. In that split second before opening an email, time slows down. The best approach is to pause, take a deep breath, and click. Here are the different options students might see: Accepted: This one speaks for itself. If you applied Early Decision, an acceptance is a binding offer and you are committed to attend. If you applied Early Action, or Regular Decision, it's non-binding. Deferred: A deferral means that a university has decided to defer a decision on your Early Decision or Early Action application until the Regular Decision date. Be sure to read the school's response very closely for instructions on next steps. You can send updates and a "letter of continued interest" which we'll cover in an upcoming blog. Waitlisted: Wait-listing usually happens during the Regular Decision round. If you're waitlisted, you're neither accepted nor rejected. The school may contact you at a later date to offer you a spot. You usually need to tell the admissions committee that you want to keep a spot on the waitlist. Here too, follow the school's instructions closely. Send updates and a letter of continued interest. Rejected: Be prepared for rejections. It happens. Even students who were excellent candidates are often rejected. It may not feel good. But there will be other places for you. And as my grandmother would have said, "It's their loss."

Can you really sum up your life in a list of ten things? What if you can't think of ten things to write about? The Activities List is the first big challenge of the Common App . It takes time to refine your list. And even more time to figure out exactly what you want to say in the limited space. You can ease into the application process by working on the activities list. If possible, start it as soon as your junior year ends. You'll feel a great sense of accomplishment with this head start. I can help you brainstorm, organize and start writing. We can work on just this part of the common app, or the entire process. Let's get started! Contact me today .

This is for you, juniors. As you wrap up the year, college application season might seem far away. But there is one important thing to do before classes end: ask teachers to write your letters of recommendation. Most applications require at least two academic letters of recommendation. Ideally, the classes could relate to a topic you want to consider studying in college. Here's the important part: talk to your teachers before you leave for the summer. Some teachers may only be able to write a certain number of letters, so don't miss an opportunity. Ask the teachers if they'd consider writing you a letter that would be due in the fall of senior year. How do you do this? Start with an initial outreach. Send teachers an email asking if they have time to meet with you to talk about a recommendation. Or you could just speak directly to the teacher before or after class, to set up the meeting. Before you meet, send the teacher a document that outlines your key accomplishments in the class. This will help the teacher have a wealth of information to consider. Questions? Reach out to learn more about the college application process and how I can help.

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