This spring has been, to say the least, very weird. This summer also promises to be weird, even if we’re not sure yet what kind of weirdness to expect. If you plan to go to college right after high school, though, then you can’t wait for things to return to normal—who knows what that will even look like?—to get started on your college application plans. What follows are my recommendations for things you can do this summer to make your fall semester a little easier. It’s not a checklist to do in order, though. Each piece can affect all the other pieces, and you’ll find yourself updating and going through the cycle multiple times.

You can skip all of this, of course. Many high school students don’t really begin thinking about college until their senior year has begun. But 12th grade will be incredibly easier if you take some time to begin your work now. Think of “application season” as beginning in early June, not early September.

Go on college visits. The bad news is that you’ll be doing most, if not all, your college visits online this summer. It’s not inevitable that campuses will be shut down all summer; many are planning for a June or July re-opening. But those same schools are also planning for the fall semester to be online from home, too. They’re planning for a number of scenarios, because they’re not sure what’s going to happen. You can do the same. Start planning for one or two on-campus visits, even if just practice visits at nearby schools, for August if you like. But also plan for there to be no summer visits—or fall visits—in person.

The good news is that most schools have now set up virtual tours you can take online, and you can fit a lot more of those into your summer than you can physical visits. Take advantage of this fact to tour, virtually, as many colleges as you can.

Write and revise a College Mission Statement. Start with the formula “I want to _____ at a _____ college with _____.” Fill in the blanks as thoroughly and honestly as you can. For more on writing a College Mission Statement, start here.

Put together a game plan. You don't need to start on your applications yet, but it helps to have a plan for how you will go about finishing your applications. Here are some questions to ask yourself to get an outline ready for your next semester:

What personal qualities do you want to project in your application? Examples of the kind of qualities I'm talking about include resilience, passion, intellectual curiosity, initiative, talent, creativity, empathy, and leadership. Think of one or two of your strongest qualities that will be the focal point of your applications. Your essay will center on these qualities, and you'll try your best to arrange for your recommendation letters to center on them.
What concrete evidence do you have--other than grades and test scores--of those qualities? What stories can you tell that exemplify those qualities? Who can vouch for you when it comes to these qualities?
What are the primary qualities of a college that will be a good place for you? How, other than by looking at rankings or reputation, will you know when a school is right for you? It helps to have idea about this before you start looking too closely at individual schools. Knowing if a school has what you want can prove difficult if you don't know what you want.
Is there a school for which you think you should apply early? Why?
What are the major application deadlines? Begin with the general. Early applications are generally due in early November, regular decision applications are generally due in early January. As you build and then narrow down your own college list, you can find more specific deadlines for your schools. How do those fit with the rest of your schedule, both at school and outside of school?
What are the gaps in your understanding that you need to fill in? It can be quite difficult to know what it is that you don't know, but make sure you've looked through the Common Application as best as you can and identify any major holes in your timeline or knowledge.

Talk to your family about money. By the end of the year, you're going to need to send away paperwork with very detailed and personal financial information, including your parents' tax forms. You're going to decide where the line is between affordable and unaffordable. You're going to to decide how much you and/or your family is willing to borrow for your education. The sooner you begin these difficult conversations, the better. They rarely go well the first time around, so you don't want to wait until the deadline to have the first time around. If your family’s financial circumstances have changed recently through unemployment, depletion of savings, loss of investment value, and/or extra costs associated with the pandemic and lockdown, then you’ll need to revisit your financial discussions often.

Draft some essays. Even if you don’t have a college list ready, you’ve probably got a good idea of the essays you may need to write for your applications. The essay prompts for the Common Application are available, as are the essay prompts, if there are any, for the separate application for public universities in your state, if they have an application separate from the Common Application. Look those over. You can begin working on those now.

Most of the seniors I work with end up having two “big” essays—around 600 words—that they use. Sometimes one gets submitted for the Common Application, and another gets used for scholarship applications or shortened for supplemental questions. When I work with a senior I end up seeing several versions of the same response, at lengths from 150 to 1,000 words, constantly updated and re-used. You can begin those now, even without prompts. In fact, it’s best to begin without thinking about a prompt. Think about your qualities that you want to highlight, the big ideas that excite you, and the stories about yourself that you end up repeating to adults often. If it helps, here are some questions to consider:

What are you most proud of?
What do teachers or other adults praise you for?
How would you explain yourself to a stranger?
What separates you from your friends at school?
What gets you intellectually excited? What do you do when you’re excited?
What’s happened to you in the past three years that has most changed who you are?
You’ve matured in the past three years—what evidence or stories have you got to show it?
What’s the most recent un-assigned book you loved?

Narrow down your list of colleges. There are around four thousand colleges and universities in the US to choose from. By then end of your junior year, you want to have that narrowed down to no more than 100. By the beginning of your senior year, you want to have that narrowed down again to about 25. By application time, it will be narrowed down to between four and twelve (for most people), and by May 2021 it will need to be narrowed down to one or two. For each, make sure you do these things:

Go to the school’s website and sign up to be on their mailing list.
Look at the school’s web pages for any majors you’re interested in.
Look over the school’s financial aid and scholarships web pages.
Try to find the admissions staff assigned to your geographic area. Most schools still divide their admissions staff geographically, and many post that information on their website. You’ll know exactly who is in charge of your application.
Look up their policy on campus tours. If you sign up for their prospective student mailing list, they’ll let you know if and when it changes.
Find out if and how they conduct interviews.
Find and if and how they handle gap year requests.
If your high school counseling office uses Naviance or similar software, put the college into your college list there so your counselor can see.
Get the information you need to try out their net price calculator.

Take care of yourself. The junior year is the most difficult for many high school students. You've just finished yours, under some of the most difficult conditions to happen in a long time. You need to prepare for your senior year and college applications, but you don't need to neglect your immediate well-being. Get rest. Read something for pleasure. Have a long talk with an interesting person. Ask some good questions instead of always being the one called on to answer questions. Be a person, and be the healthiest one you can.

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