With the summer break approaching, upcoming seniors should be aware of what they should be doing over the break. It is important to still pursue academic goals over the summer, so that you can go to your dream college! Therefore, this article will state all the necessary steps that a student must take to stay on track and not be overwhelmed during the senior year. There are five necessary actions you should be taking to prepare for your college application. The steps are researching colleges, acquiring recommendation letters, writing college essays, pursuing extracurricular activities, and SAT prep.

College Research

• It is essential to research which college you wish to attend throughout the summer and even earlier. Take the location, acceptance rate, majors, requirements, and tuition cost into account. Furthermore, it is critical to not be fixated on a certain college and to have safe schools in mind as well.

• There are several websites that you could use for your college search such as: the FDR website, College Board, Niche, Pathful, and many other apps that can connect you to the schools that pique your future interests.
• Additionally, it is crucial to know the distinction between Early Action and Early Decision. Early Action plans are non binding where students can apply early and if they get accepted, they have the option to choose whether to commit or not. However, Early Decisions are binding and the student must sign a contract to attend the school they chose to have as ED. Although students have higher chances of acceptance if they apply as an early decision, it is still necessary to have thoroughly researched the school.

Recommendation Letters

For current juniors, it is suggested that they ask for recommendation letters starting now since the teacher needs time to write one. The recommended number of recommendation letters are two, although it may vary from school to school which is why it is important to research schools. Please find teachers whom you want a recommendation letter from and ask them for one. Outside of room 104, there is a wall where useful information is displayed, along with a pink sheet that can be used to ask for the letters. For this reason, be mindful and polite when asking while also considering the teacher’s opinion.

College Essay

Upcoming seniors should start writing their college essays this summer, so that they have the time to edit their topics and ask for feedback without feeling rushed. In addition, some universities/colleges require more than one essay, so it is important to investigate that. Furthermore, certain colleges have their essay topic which you should be ready for as well. Connect with your family or teachers early on to give you feedback on your essay, so you can improve it. Therefore, it is important to not procrastinate about your college essay and be mindful of it.

Extracurricular activities

On your college application, there will be a slot concerning the activities you have done that don’t contribute toward academic credits. Those activities may be summer programs, jobs, volunteering services, school clubs, school organizations, hobbies, and many more. Therefore, to strengthen your application it is necessary to have different extracurricular activities. Over the summer students may volunteer, work in a job, complete shadowing experience, and join summer programs. Additionally, extracurricular activities with leadership positions will show the student’s determination and skills that will look good on college applications. For this reason, please invest time to strengthen your extracurricular activities over the summer by joining a specific program!

SAT

All juniors should have already taken their free-school-given SAT digital test and received their scores. If you are not satisfied with your score, please go visit Mr. Tian in the college office to receive free waiver codes and sign up for your next SAT. Although some universities/colleges made SAT scores optional, you can still consider retaking them so that you can improve your score to submit and make your application even stronger. College Board allows you to see which areas of subjects you did better on and those that you need to improve. Therefore, take advantage of your score, to learn the areas you need to focus on.

Good luck to all upcoming seniors on your summer break! Make sure to balance both work and having fun. Please don’t be afraid of the senior year and wish a Cougar goodbye to the current seniors!