When do i start filling out college applications

Search through the characteristics and add colleges that align with them. Each college and university is different, so make sure you stay on top of their application requirements. Be sure to take a moment to celebrate this huge accomplishment!

And remember to finish the academic year on a high note, apply for financial aid and prepare for the future. It will walk you through the application from start to finish. The Common App essay prompts provide an amazing opportunity for you to tell colleges and universities about who you are and how you can contribute to your future campus experience.

Search more than member colleges and universities using Common App. See application requirements, access virtual tours, learn about academic programs, testing policies and student experience on campus. Get started today to add colleges to your My Colleges tab in application. Take Common App with you where ever you go. Our mobile app helps you track your progress, stay on top of application requirements, and manage deadlines.

To meet a regular decision deadline, you'd apply a few months later in January or February. Let's take a look at each deadline in more specific detail, starting with early decision and early action. Early admissions includes two options: early decision and early action. While early decision and early action differ in terms of their requirements and conditions, they share similar timelines. Both plans have a deadline in November and allow you to hear back about your admissions decision in mid-December.

Like Early Decision I, this binding option lets you hear back early from your first choice school, usually in February, about whether or not you got in. Early admissions can be a great option for students who are prepared to apply early and appreciate early notification. If you're planning to apply early, when do you complete each step of the process? Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither should your application be.

You need to take time filling out your application, thoughtfully writing about your extracurricular involvement, and proofreading all of the information for errors.

Apart from filling out your app, you'll have to take time fulfilling other requirements. You should spend a few months thinking about and writing your personal essay. Giving yourself space to brainstorm and mull over ideas is an important part of the writing process that can take weeks. Since your essay is such an important part of your application, you should spend a couple of months drafting, getting feedback, and revising it until it feels precise and authentic, almost like a work of art.

To meet an early deadline, you might begin working on your essay over the summer before senior year. While it's rare that the Common App changes its essay prompts, they have done so in the past. Common App announced these changes in August.

Most recently, Common App made changes to its essay prompts in February ; you can learn all about those changes here. Keep this in mind when working on your essay, but don't worry about drastic changes in the questions. Generally speaking, they all ask you to communicate something important about your identity and show how you make meaning of significant experiences in your life.

A second piece of your application that requires your attention early on is your recommendation letters. You should ask your counselor and teachers at least a month before your deadlines , likely by the end of September. You might also ask your junior year teachers at the end of 11th grade. Apart from making the request, you should also spend a week or so thinking about and filling out your "brag sheet," so that your recommenders have some thoughtful material to consult when they begin to write.

You might take the tests two or three times to achieve your target scores. You also would benefit from several months to study and improve. To apply for an early deadline, you'd ideally have your test scores all set by the end of junior year. You might be able to take the tests in September or October of senior year, but these dates should be a last resort, rather than a "make or break" test date. Applying early to college is an increasingly popular option among students, but the majority of students still apply under regular decision.

Read on to learn about regular decision deadlines and how they impact your college planning. The most common regular decision deadlines are in January and February. January 1 is a common date, making for a busy winter break! January 15 and January 31 are popular ones, too.

Students who apply under regular decision usually hear back about their admissions decisions in March or April. Since regular decision deadlines are in the winter, how does your college planning schedule differ from that to meet an early deadline?

In many ways, your college planning timeline for regular decision will be similar to the timeline for applying for early admission--but with some key differences. You have to consider how busy the fall of senior year is, both for you and for your teachers and counselors. If your senior year schedule is packed with challenging courses and after school involvements, then you still might want to work on your essay over the summer months, when you have more time and focus for it. You also might still ask for your recommendations in September, or at least October.

Some teachers set a cap on how many letters they'll write, and they probably don't want to spend their entire winter holiday writing letters. Try to ask early in the fall semester. It's still advisable to take it at least once in junior year, and many students take it twice—in the fall of 11th grade and again in the spring. Finally, some schools don't have set deadlines at all and are flexible about when applications arrive.

This option is called rolling admissions. Your timeline for applying for rolling admissions depends on a few factors and may vary from student to student. First things first, know your ultimate resource! Utilize them as much as possible and build a good relationship with them so they give you their utmost attention throughout the whole process whether you wish to apply to college, trade-school, or immediately enter the workforce.

High school guidance counselors can help: Solicit recommendation letters as well as give advice on who the best people would be to ask Sign up for SAT and ACT exams and provide resources to help you study Organize campus visits Provide you with a list of schools based on what you want to study that you may not have considered otherwise Give constructive feedback on college essays, majors you might be interested in, and the type of fit that would be good for you.

Picking a major or maybe just looking for the bachelor's degrees that make the highest salaries , check this list out, maybe it will help you pick what you want to major in. This is also a great time to assess if you want to go to a 4-year school or a 2-year schol or if you want to take classes at a community college while you figure that out.

Junior year is the best time to start touring the colleges and universities of interest to you to decide if they are a good fit or a waste of time. So touring schools before applying to them can save a lot of money. Secure the people you want to write you a letter of recommendation Most college applications require that you have a letter of recommendation from a mentor or someone who can speak to your character and accomplishments.

Though it might not always be required, thinking about your list of recommenders now can take the stress out of this process. Not to mention, asking the person you ultimately narrow it down to ahead of time can give them more time to prepare as well as likely say yes since there is much less stress for them to rush.

Applying senior year Know how the application process works You should already be aware of how the application works per the colleges and universities you plan on applying to. Remember, submitting multiple application types takes time and effort and rushing the process will make you stressed and anxious.

The early birds If you started your college search during your junior year, you might be ready to apply early to avoid waiting for acceptance letters. Early decision and early action applications typically have deadlines that come as soon as October, but November and December.

It is not recommended that if you have any financial concerns submit ED applications because financial aid is not usually secured this early on and could cause some financial hardship before your first semester has even begun.

And we cannot stress this enough… That early action applications are non-binding, this is simply just submitting your application early and finding out if you got in before most of your peers apply.