After three grueling years of academics, senior year has finally arrived!  Of course, there's important work still to be done.  Now is time for rising seniors to roll up their sleeves and lay the foundation for a successful college application season.  In this post, we’ll run through a checklist of five college admissions priorities for rising seniors to work on starting now.  Specifically, we’ll discuss how to:

1. Finalize your college list—the single most important factor upon which nearly all of your other decisions over the next four months will depend
   
   
2. Identify and achieve your target SAT/ACT score before application deadlines
   
   
3. Begin essays and applications
   
   
4. Identify financial aid and scholarships
   
   
5. Determine whether you need to take SAT Subject Tests

The checklist includes links to many of our other resources, including our College Essay Planning Formula, which many of our students have used as the basis for highly successful college application essays.  Let’s get to work!

1. First Things First: Finalize Your College List

All roads lead from where you would like to apply!  The colleges on your list will determine:

• The target score you should aim for the on the SAT/ACT based on college norms and institutional scholarship requirements
  
  
• The latest you can test (and other application/scholarship deadlines)
  
  
• Whether you will need to take the SAT/ACT essay
  
  
• Whether you need to take SAT Subject Tests
  
  
• Whether you will need to prepare for interviews
  
  
• ...and more

You can find an entire blog post with our five-step framework for Developing Your College List, but here’s the basic assignment:

• Start defining which criteria are most important to you in a college—factors like location, size, academic programs, campus environment, extracurriculars, and more.
  
  
• Begin researching institutions to add to your list of potential colleges.
  
  
• By spring of your junior year, finalize your list of 6 – 10 colleges, making sure that your list includes a balanced mix of “reach,” “match,” and “likely” schools (determined by comparing your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and coursework rigor compare against the norms for a given college).

2. Achieve Your Target Scores on the SAT/ACT

Determine the Latest You Can Test

Where you are applying impacts the score you should aim for on the SAT or ACT in order to be a competitive candidate (check out The Frontier 49 College Admissions Factbook to view SAT/ACT score norms for 49 popular colleges nationwide), as well as the latest date you can take (or retake) the SAT/ACT.  If your college application deadlines are in December or earlier, you have a limited amount of time to take the SAT or ACT.  Scores from the August SAT date, September ACT date, and October SAT/ACT test dates will be released in time for nearly all applications; November test date scores will be released in time for many applications; and December test date scores will be released in time for some applications.  Check each college’s website for specific deadlines.  Here is information about registering and preparing for the fall 2018 SAT/ACT dates:

SAT - Fall 2019

ACT - Fall 2019

Prepare to Achieve Your Target Score

Here's a summary of the 3 Steps to SAT & ACT Success:

Step 1: Determine whether to focus on the SAT or ACT

All four-year colleges accept either the SAT or ACT for admissions purposes. That means you should determine which test better suits your strengths, then focus exclusively on preparing for that test.  How do you do that?  Take a free practice SAT/ACT to establish your baseline and learn which test better suits your strengths.

Step 2: Set your target score

Determine the score you would like to reach based on your college admissions and scholarship goals. View average SAT/ACT scores of admitted students at a sample of nationwide colleges by downloading The Frontier 49 College Admissions Factbook.

Step 3: Select your study strategy

Evaluate your baseline score and target score in the context of your strengths and learning style preferences. Determine whether you should go pro with an expert test prep program, study on your own, or try both. 

No matter what, Step 1 is to take a practice SAT and ACT.

Your first priority is to determine your baseline performance on the SAT and ACT. Taking a free practice SAT and ACT with Frontier Tutoring is the fastest, easiest way to see where you stand.  After taking a full-length practice exam released by the test maker, you’ll get a custom score report with a roadmap to score improvement and expert guidance on choosing the right test for you.  We’ll then discuss your goals to help you determine your target SAT/ACT score and the best way to prepare.

Have you already taken practice/official SAT/ACT tests?

3. Begin Essays & Applications

You know that you’ll need to write a number of essays for your college applications. The real question is how to craft effective messaging that will demonstrate your talent and character to maximize your chances of admission.  Your college list (see Checklist Item 1 above) will inform which types of applications you will need to use and, beyond that, what types of and how many application essays you may need to write.

Start planning and drafting your essays as soon as possible!  Most competitive colleges require applicants to submit a personal statement/essay, plus any number of supplemental essays. In fact, 1/3 of college-bound seniors apply to 7+ colleges, potentially requiring dozens of unique essays.¹ 

Most competitive colleges require applicants to submit a personal statement/essay, plus any number of supplemental essays. In fact, 1/3 of college-bound seniors apply to 7+ colleges, potentially requiring dozens of unique essays. (¹NACAC, 2015).

How should you get started?  In our college essay blog post—The College Essay Approach Sam L. Used to Get Into Georgetown—we walk through the following considerations regarding planning and developing your college essays:

• What kinds of essays you will need to write
  
  
• The Frontier Tutoring essay planning formula for strategizing your topic and planning your structure, regardless of the prompt
  
  
• Keys to success for college application essay writing
  
  
• When you should start planning and writing
  
  
• Examples of actual essays—from first draft to final—that Anja L. and Sam L. two Frontier Tutoring college admissions consulting students, used to get admitted to Middlebury College (17% acceptance rate) and  Georgetown (11.7% Early Action acceptance rate)

4. Explore Scholarships

Once you have finalized your college list, you should take some time to review the financial aid that may be available at each institution—and particularly merit-based scholarships, which you may earn based on your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, or other similar criteria.  If you need to raise your SAT/ACT scores to qualify for one of these scholarships, now is the time to establish your new target score and begin preparing accordingly.

If you intend to go to college in Alaska, you should be familiar with the Alaska Performance Scholarship, which provides up to $19,020 in scholarship funding over four years depending on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores.

But did you know that many out-of-state institutions offer similar merit-based scholarships?  For example, at Colorado State University, students who have a GPA of 3.5 and an ACT score of 28 can earn over $36,000 in scholarship funding over four years.  For other examples, check out The Frontier 49 College Admissions Factbook, which previews some in-state and out-of-state scholarships based on your GPA and/or SAT/ACT scores

A quick note about your GPA: For many merit-based scholarships (including the Alaska Performance Scholarship), determination of eligibility is made based on your entire high school transcript—so depending on the terms of the specific scholarship, you may still have up to two semesters to boost your GPA for scholarship qualification if needed (and conversely, if you have already achieved the required GPA, work hard during senior year to maintain it!).  Learn more about your high school GPA—and how much you may still be able to improve it during senior year—by reading our post, Four Facts About Your High School GPA for College Admissions.

Finally, speaking of financial aid and scholarships, note that the  FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) will begin accepting applications on October 1, 2019.

5. Determine Whether You Need to Take SAT Subject Tests

If you’re interested in applying to certain competitive colleges, you will need to submit scores from (usually) two SAT Subject Tests in addition to the SAT/ACT.  Popular colleges where Alaska students apply that require SAT Subject Tests include CalTech and MIT.  Colleges that recommend or “strongly recommend” SAT Subject Tests include  or recommend SAT Subject Tests include Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale.

Step 1 is to determine whether any of the colleges on your preliminary college list require or recommend SAT Subject Tests.  If they do, read our more comprehensive guidance: Six Things to Know About SAT Subject Tests.  Note that while you can take up to 3 SAT Subject Tests on any given test date, you cannot take any SAT Subject Tests on the date you take the regular SAT.

What About the Rest of Senior Year?

Above we discussed five priorities for rising seniors to think about before senior year starts, as well as the early part of senior year.  What should 12th grade families be thinking about during the remainder of the year?  Download our Senior Year College Admissions Timeline for a month-by-month overview of your college admissions priorities.

Getting to Work

Between finalizing your college list, determining your SAT/ACT, planning and drafting essays, and figuring out financial aid, there’s a lot to think about over the next few months—but if you start now, you can complete every step methodically and minimize stress.

The college admissions experts at Frontier Tutoring are also here to help.  Get expert guidance with North to My Future, your free, individualized college admissions strategy session for students in Anchorage.  We’ll sit down with you for 45 minutes and discuss how your GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and entire profile compare relative to the norms for the colleges and scholarships you’re considering.  We’ll also develop an action plan of specific priorities for you between now and when it’s time to apply.  If our premium college admissions consulting, SAT/ACT prep, or academic tutoring programs are appropriate, we will also provide recommendations on how you can best use these professional resources.

We wish you success in this final stage of your high school career!

Summary of Resources in This Post

Free Programs

North to My Future - Free College Admissions Strategy Session

Free Practice SAT/ACT

Blog Posts, E-Books, and Tools

The Ultimate Guide to Designing Your SAT & ACT Prep Strategy

When to Prepare for and Take the SAT/ACT

Six Things to Know About SAT Subject Tests

Four Facts About Your High School GPA for College Admissions

A Four-Fold Framework for Developing Your College List

Paid Programs

SAT/ACT/SAT Subject Test Prep

Academic Tutoring

College Admissions Consulting (One-on-One Programs)

College Boot Camp 2017 (College Application Workshop for Rising Seniors)

Citations

¹NACAC, 2015