10 College Admissions Tasks for High School Juniors Before Summer Vacation

Juniors, as you wrap up this school year there are a lot of college related things that you can and should be thinking about. Go through the list below to make sure you are on top of all of ten!
1) Testing: Spend time preparing for your ACT, SAT, Subject Tests, and AP tests! If you haven’t already registered for your tests make sure to do so.
2) College Fairs: This is a busy time for college fairs at your school or in your community. Don’t forget to check which colleges are coming your way and come up with some good questions to ask.
3) College Nights: Your high school likely holds a college night in the spring. This is a great opportunity to learn the process for requesting letters of recommendation and transcripts so you are ready to go next fall.
4) College Visits: As you start to narrow your college list take some time to plan some college visits with your family.
5) Talk to your Senior friends before graduation: See where they are headed next year and how they made that decision. Ask them for any tips for next year for things they wish they had done differently.
6) Letters of Recommendation: Have you decided whom you are going to ask for a letter of recommendation? It is not too early to have that initial conversation with your teacher about her willingness to write your letter. Try and have this conversation before you leave for summer.
7) Summer Plans: Make sure you have your summer plans mapped out so you can make the most of the next few months. Do you have enough to keep you busy while still finding time to spend with friends and family?
8 ) Start Brainstorming Essay Topics: As you have ideas about essay topics (influential people in your life, an activity that is meaningful to you, books you have read that made an impact, a really funny or enlightening experience, etc) find a place to jot them down and even start free writing on the subject. The more essay work you do now the less you will have to do next fall.
9) Request Information: If you have found some colleges that interest you, start requesting information and adding yourself to their mailing list.
10) Finish Strong: The junior year transcript is very important to colleges (how many times have you heard that?) finish strong and make sure your grades reflect your hard work.