Contents
Keep track of what you should be doing with your mentee each month with this list
September 2018
Important dates
- September 26: Late registration deadline for October SAT (Register here)
To do:
- Prepare for FAFSA
- Get parents’ tax information
- Pay attention to deadlines – they may be different for federal, state, and college
- Think about applying to fly-in programs (optional)
- Make sure your mentee makes a Common App account if they are going to apply to schools through the Common App
- Begin work on the college essay
- Begin thinking about who your mentee wants to ask for recommendation letters
- Should have 3 individuals in mind
- IDEALLY they will ask them by the end of September so that the recommender has as much time as possible to write the letter
- at least 1-2 should be a teacher in the subject they wish to major in
October 2018
Important dates
- October 1: FAFSA is released (submit ASAP for better chance at getting $$)
- October 5: Deadline to register for November SAT
- October 6: SAT
- October 24: Deadline for late registration for November SAT
To do:
- Make a college list and start applications
- Continue applying to fly-in programs (optional)
- Continue working on or finishing college essay for the Common App
- Have at least a rough draft ready at this point
- Yleana’s guide to writing college application essays
- By early October, your student should have asked 3 people to write letters for them
- Check the recommendation requirements for the colleges your student is thinking of applying to
- At least 1-2 should be a teacher in the subject they wish to major in
- Usually 1 can be a non-teacher, someone who knows them well and can speak to their abilities and personal qualities
Yleana has tons of resources to help you in your college search. Here are a few to get you started:
list of colleges with programs for historically underrepresented students
colleges for high flyers to look into (if you’re getting 500+ on both Verbal and Math and 3.5+ GPA)
You can find even more resources here
November 2018
Important dates
- November 1: common deadline for early action/early decision
- November 2: Deadline to register for December SAT
- November 3: SAT
To do:
- Finish FAFSA if it isn’t done yet
- Continue filling out college apps for the colleges on your mentee’s list
- Avoid undermatching: applying to schools that are less selective than what the student is capable of
- Apply to schools that meet need
- Look into test optional schools
- Start writing supplemental essays for colleges
- FINISH the college essay for the Common App
- Check in with recommenders on the status of recommendation letters
- make sure your student has provided their recommenders with information on how to submit their letters
- Make sure you send your test scores to your colleges
- Optional: talk to a current student at schools you’re interested in (talk to us for details)
December 2018
Important dates
- December 1: SAT (last time!)
- December 31/January 1: common deadline for regular decision
To do:
- Turn in college app materials including:
-
- Common App essay
- supplemental essays
- SAT scores
- FAFSA
- CSS profile
- recommendation letters
-
- Start looking for scholarships
- Keep EFC gap in mind
January 2019
Important dates
- December 31/January 1: common deadline for regular decision
To do:
- All college app materials should be turned in
- Continue looking for scholarships
Yleana has tons of scholarship lists available. You can find the full list and other resources here. Some of these include:
February – May 2019
Important dates
- March – April: admission decisions often come out
To do:
- Continue applying for scholarships
- MAKE SURE FAFSA is complete and that students do not need to provide additional paperwork
- Our students can have complicated tax information and don’t always get notices that paperwork is missing. If the student has not received a financial aid package from a school that admitted them by April, make sure to call that school to see if anything is missing.
- When decisions come out, compare financial aid packages to help decide
- Visit schools, if possible
- Talk to current students at schools you’re interested in
- Make a decision!