Summer Before Senior YEAR  CHECKLIST

GENERAL ITEMS

• Study for tests:    If you'll be taking the ACT or SAT in the Summer or Fall, study over the summer.   Go to  Testing for more links. 

• Tour:    Visit colleges when travelling.  View the College Visits page for tips.

• College list:  Continue to refine or complete your college list.  Learn how to build a good college list.  An advisor in the College & Career Center can help you in early fall.  Building your college list early helps you understand what work is involved in the application process.  Use the College Spreadsheet  to help you analyze these schools, and later manage your applications.

• Understand college costs:    Talk to your parents about college costs and use the online tools to calculate your "Expected Family Contribution", the amount of money your family is expected to pay out of pocket for your college.  These tools are called "EFC Calculators" or "Net Price Calculators" and can be found on every college website, or use the College Cost Calculator.   

• Redo: If you received a grade of "D" or "F" in an academic a-g course, you will need to retake that course in summer school to make up that grade so that you can be eligible to apply to a California public college (CSU or UC).  See your guidance counselor for more information.

WITHIN  NAVIANCE

Refer to the GUIDE TO NAVIANCE buttons below for information on how to perform these tasks.

• College List:    Start narrowing down your college list. By the fall, you should have 6-12 colleges in your list, including 2-3 safety schools (both academic and financial safeties), 3-6 match schools, and an optional 1-3 reach schools (or 1-3 more match schools if you do not want to apply to reach schools.) 

• Prep for Letters of Recommendation:  If any of your colleges require a Letter of Recommendation, complete the following by clicking the arrow by your profile pic and selecting to options below:

  1. 1. • STUDENT STATEMENT:  Surveys from your school > Student Statement. 

• PARENT BRAG SHEET:  Surveys from your school > Parent Brag Sheet.

• TEACHER RECOMMENDATION SURVEY:  Surveys from your school > Teacher Recommendation Survey.

• RESUME:   Resume > Add/Update sections.   See Building a Resume.

• NOTE:  For some of these items, Naviance can time-out while you are entering this information.  It is best to write your statements in a Google Doc, then paste it into Naviance. 

• Scholarships: Research scholarships on Google, Naviance and Financial Aid & Scholarships page.  Keep track of what paperwork, essays and deadlines are required.

PREPARE FOR COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

• Essay:   Begin working on your Common App essays, UC Personal Statements and other supplemental writing required by each college.  Remember that only one Common App essay is written and shared between all your Common App schools.  The same holds true for the Coalition App essay.  Your one set of UC Personal Statements is shared with any of their nine campuses that you apply to.  There are no essays for the CSUs.  Many private schools ask for "Supplemental Essays", so be sure to look up those prompts so that you have a sense of the amount of writing you'll need to do and can plan accordingly.  See College Essays for guidance.

• Applications:    Prepare for your applications over the summer, especially if you are applying "Early" or to any UC school.   Look at the online applications so that you know what to expect.  Once the online applications are open, you can begin inputting your information and save it until your application is complete, reviewed, and the filing period has begun.  Find links to the various college applications on Apply to College.   

• Letters of Rec:    If you didn't already do it in the spring, make a list of those you'd like to receive a letter of recommendation for both college applications and scholarships.  Be sure to enter the teacher's name in Naviance and complete the Teacher Recommendation Survey in Naviance by clicking Colleges > Letters of Recommendation.

• Counselor Report:    If you'll be applying "Early", make an appointment with your Guidance Counselor and College & Career Advisor early in the fall to review the process and ensure you meet the deadlines. 

• Financial Aid:    Organize your financial aid information to make the process of applying easier: 

  • • • • • • • • list of aid sources

                • requirements for each application

                • list of deadlines

                • For more information see Financial Aid & Scholarships.

• Applying in Summer:    Some colleges begin accepting applications as early as August 1. Send your test scores over the summer. Transcripts can be sent after the first day of school.  (Note:  UCs and CSUs don't require SAT/ACT scores or transcripts.)