Applying to college is exciting, and a clear college application timeline helps you confidently stay on track. From SATs and ACTs to campus visits, applying for college can be an overwhelming experience.
At Remitly, we understand the importance of planning ahead for student success. That’s why we’ve created this easy-to-follow guide to help you get organized, meet your deadlines, and prepare for your future.
Junior year fall
The beginning of your junior year is the beginning of college season. This time of year can set you up for success. Here are a few things to do in the fall of your junior year.
Meet with your guidance counselor
Meeting with your guidance counselor early can help you better manage your application timeline.
Counselors can:
- Categorize schools based on your transcripts:
- Reach (difficult but possible to get in)
- Match (fit your profile)
- Safety (easy admittance)
- Suggest schools you might not know
- Explain timelines and deadlines
- Keep you organized with documents
- Guide you in choosing high school classes aligned with your goals
- Connect you with alumni
- Advise on SAT/ACT decisions, prep, and registration.
A guidance counselor is a key resource, particularly if your family is unfamiliar with the college application process.
Research colleges
With over 4,300 colleges and universities in the US, narrowing your list is essential.
Start by thinking about which subjects interest you. You don’t need to pick a major, but make sure schools offer what you want to explore.
Evaluate schools based on:
- Campus culture: Greek life, sports, clubs, study habits
- Size: Overall enrollment and class sizes
- Campus setting: Urban vs. college town, near or far from home
- Cost and aid: Tuition, housing, scholarships
- Undergraduate focus: Opportunities for undergrads, teaching by actual professors or TAs (teaching assistants)
Decide your must-haves versus your nice-to-haves.
Research methods include:
- Online—College Board, Niche, College Navigator
- Virtual campus tours
- Alumni or current students
- The Fiske Guide to Colleges
Narrow your list down to about five to 10 colleges, ideally, a mix of reach, match, and safety schools.
Junior year spring
The spring of your junior year is an excellent time to continue refining your search and preparing your applications for the schools on your short list. It’s also when you’ll start campus visits and reaching out to counselors.
Attend campus tours
Campus visits help you decide if a school is right for you. You can observe daily life, talk to current students, and attend info sessions about academics, scholarships, study abroad, and student support.
Steps to go on a tour:
- Go to the visit or admissions page on the college website
- Look for options like campus tours, information sessions, or open house days
- Sign up early to get your preferred date and time
- Save and print your confirmation email
- Plan logistics, like transportation and lodging
- Prepare questions
- Check in about 15-20 minutes early
- Afterwards, write down your impressions
Take the SAT or ACT
Both the SAT and ACT are widely accepted, so take the one that suits you best. You can take free full-length practice SAT and ACT tests online to see which one you’re more comfortable with. Sign up early so you can get the date and location you prefer.
The SAT and ACT have similar registration processes:
- Go to the official SAT or ACT website
- Create an account with your name and information
- Choose your preferred test date and center
- Upload a clear photo of yourself
- Pay the fee (SAT: $68 USD, ACT: $65 USD), check for fee waivers
- Print your admission ticket and bring it and your ID on test day
You’ll usually get your results back within two to four weeks. If needed, you can retake the exam in the fall of your senior year, for an additional fee.
Summer before senior year
Summer is a great time to plan for your upcoming college admissions journey. As you probably have more free time, you can work on important application documents.
Draft your personal statement or other required essays
Most colleges, including the Common App, require a personal statement or essay. This gives admission officers a sense of who you are beyond your grades and test scores.
Visit the Common App and other school portals and look at what prompts are available. See if your essays can be adapted for multiple schools.
Reflect on any meaningful experiences you’ve had and choose a specific, relevant story. Just get it out on paper—don’t worry about it being perfect.
A good college essay has:
- A hook (like a quote or a surprising statement) to grab attention
- Vivid details and storytelling
- Reflection about what the event meant to you and how you’ve changed
- A personal and honest tone, not overly formal
Create your resume
A resume is a great way to organize your accomplishments. You can also use it as a reference when filling out applications and to give to people writing your recommendation letters.
Limit your resume to one page, and include:
- Basic info
- Name
- Phone number
- Education
- High school name, city, and state
- Graduation year
- GPA, if 3.5+
- Notable coursework (honors, AP, IB, dual enrollment)
- Extracurriculars
- Activity or club
- Your role
- Dates of participation
- A short description of what you did/accomplished
- Community service/volunteering
- Organization
- Roles and responsibilities
- Hours
- Any leadership roles or impact
- Work experience, if applicable
- Job title
- Employer
- Dates of employment
- Key responsibilities and skills
- Awards and honors
- Name of award
- Grade/year received
- Brief description, if not obvious
- Skills and interests (optional)
- Foreign languages
- Technical or creative skills, like Photoshop or coding
- Unique hobbies or interests that show your personality
Use bullet points and strong action verbs (e.g. led, created). Save your resume as a PDF and use a clean font (e.g. Arial, Calibri).
Organize your extracurriculars, community service, work experience, and awards and honors sections based on relevance to your intended major.
Ask for letters of recommendation
Asking people to write you letters of recommendation in the summer can help ensure that you get them on time, especially since people often write them for multiple students.
A person writing your recommendation letter should be someone who knows you well, like recent core subject (English, math, science history, foreign language) teachers.
Ideally, ask the person face-to-face, but you can call or email if needed. Give them:
- Your resume
- A list of schools and deadlines
- Letter submission instructions
- Notes on what you’d like them to mention
If they agree, thank them and send a reminder one to two weeks before the deadline. Write a handwritten thank-you note or kind email after they submit.
Create an application calendar
Avoid stress with a clear calendar listing:
- All application deadlines for any school you’re applying to
- Test dates
- Essay due dates
- Financial aid form due dates
- Recommendation request reminder dates
You can use a digital calendar, planner, or wall calendar—whatever keeps you organized.
Senior year fall
Fall is when you really begin the college application process. If you’ve prepared everything in advance, you’re likely to have a smooth experience.
September of your senior year
Prioritize rolling admission schools. Their applications usually open at this time, and they’re first-come, first-served.
Meet with your counselor again. Bring your finalized college list, resume, transcript, and any final questions. Ask if you qualify for any fee waivers and how your school sends transcripts.
If you’re retaking the SAT or ACT, register and pay. Request your transcripts from your school. Edit and finalize your personal statement—ideally, have someone else look over it.
October of your senior year
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) window opens October 1st. It helps determine federal, state, and school-based financial aid and scholarships. Some state aid is first-come, first-served, so apply early.
To fill it out, you’ll need:
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Driver’s license
- Parent(s)’ tax returns from two years ago
- Records of income, savings, investments, and other financial assets
On the FAFSA website, create an FSA for yourself, and another for your parent(s) if you’re a dependent. Then, click on “Apply for Aid” and complete the FAFSA. You can also use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to directly pull in tax info.
List all the colleges you’re considering, and they’ll automatically receive your FAFSA info. Both you and your parent(s) must sign the FAFSA with your FSA IDs. After you submit, you’ll get a confirmation page, and later, a Student Aid Report (SAR).
November of your senior year
Early Action/Early Decision applications are usually due between November 1st and 15th. Remember that if you get accepted into an Early Decision school, you’re obligated to attend.
Confirm your school has sent your transcripts to every school you’ve applied to, and ensure you’ve sent your SAT or ACT scores. Even if you’re applying regular decision, some schools have early deadlines for scholarship consideration.
If you see a missing transcript or test score alert a few days before a deadline, alert your counselor immediately.
Senior year winter
Regular decision applications are typically due between January 1st and 15th. Submit your applications a few days early, as websites may be slow or crash on deadline days.
Check your email and any college portals daily. Colleges will probably be contacting you with important information, including:
- Missing application materials
- Alumni or admissions interviews (if applicable)
- Scholarships
- Admissions decisions
Respond to any emails professionally and within 24 to 48 hours. Create a folder or label in your email for each school you apply to so you don’t lose anything.
Apply for scholarships
In addition to the FAFSA, there are many other scholarship opportunities available. Many applications are due between January and March.
Find scholarships through:
- Online platforms like Fastweb and Going Merry
- Your school’s scholarship bulletin board or website
- Local organizations
- Your guidance counselor
Track your applications in a spreadsheet with each scholarship’s name, deadline, and requirements. Reuse and tailor essays for different scholarships when you can.
Senior year spring
At this point, you’re receiving your admissions decisions and financial aid offers. It’s smart to make a list of where you were accepted, waitlisted, and denied. If you were waitlisted at a top-choice school, write a Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI) and send any relevant updates.
Break down each financial aid offer and look at the net price, or the total cost after grants and scholarships. Use online tools like the Net Price Calculator. If your family’s financial situation has changed, you can appeal any financial aid offer.
Most colleges have virtual or in-person Admitted Student Days in March or April. There, you can meet current students, tour dorms, attend classes, and get a feel for campus life.
The national college decision deadline is May 1st. You must accept your offer through your chosen school’s portal or by email and respectfully decline all other offers.
Once you’ve formally enrolled, you’ll usually submit an enrollment deposit ($100–$500 USD) and a housing deposit if you’re living on campus. As some colleges have limited housing, try and submit as early as possible if needed.
If the deposit cost is an issue, ask about a fee waiver. Schools can and will help you.
Senior year summer
You’re done with senior year, and you’ve been accepted to and chosen your college. However, there are a few important things to do before college starts.
Prepare for orientation and course registration
Most colleges have both in-person and online orientation for new students in the summer. Check your email and portal regularly for details.
At orientation, you’ll learn more about the course registration process and meet other new students.
List classes you’re interested in and ask your academic advisor any questions, as they usually help you register. Register as soon as possible, as spots—particularly in large core requirement classes—fill up quickly.
Follow up on your financial aid
You may need to formally finalize your aid package.
- Log on to your school’s financial aid portal and check for:
- Loan counseling—required training if you have federal aid
- Master Promissory Note (MPN)—your legal federal loan agreement
- Any missing tax documents or FAFSA verification forms
- Set up payment plans or confirm your billing schedule
- If you received outside scholarships:
- Send your scholarship award letters to your college’s financial aid office
- Ask how the money is applied to your account
Celebrate your hard work
Enjoy your success, breathe, and prepare for the next chapter of your life:
- Spend time with friends and family
- Buy or borrow supplies like a laptop, bedding, and notebooks
- Join your school’s class of (your year) social media groups and connect with future classmates
- Rest up and have fun
By following this timeline, you can approach each step with clarity and confidence. From researching schools to accepting your final offer, staying organized makes all the difference. Keep this guide handy from beginning to end, and remember that you’re not alone in the process.
FAQs
What should I do if my high school doesn’t have a strong college counseling program?
Take advantage of free online tools (BigFuture, Niche, and College Navigator), local college fairs, and nonprofit guidance organizations. Reach out directly to admissions officers at schools you’re interested in, too.
Can I apply to college if I haven’t decided on a major yet?
Yes, most colleges let you apply as “undeclared” and explore different subjects for one or two years. Just make sure schools offer a wide range of programs you’re interested in.
If my SAT or ACT score is low, can I still apply?
Definitely—many schools are test-optional, meaning you don’t need to submit a test score at all. If the rest of your application (GPA, extracurriculars, essay) is strong, you still have a good chance.
How many colleges should I apply to?
Most students apply to five to 10 schools. A balanced college list usually includes one to two reach schools, two to four match schools, and two to three safety schools. Focus on quality over quantity, and only apply to schools you’d seriously consider attending.