Senior year · Class of 2027

12th grade college prep checklist

Senior year is mostly execution, and the failures in it are administrative rather than academic — a form filed late, an offer compared on the wrong number, a final transcript nobody sent. The list below is in the order the year hands it to you.

Tests this year

Next: SAT: November 7, 2026 · Registration closes October 23, 2026
Next: ACT: December 12, 2026 · Registration closes November 6, 2026

See all test dates →

Fall

Courses and grades

Keep the senior-year grades up. An offer is conditional on the final transcript, and colleges do withdraw them.What this means

Tests

Book one more sitting of the SAT or ACT only if a higher score would change which colleges are on your list.Test dates

Applications

Finish the early applications first. Early action and early decision close well ahead of everything else, and one of the two is a binding commitment to attend.What this means
Give your recommenders your activity record and a draft of your essay, not just a request. A letter written from a résumé reads like one.What this means
File the federal student aid application as soon as it opens. Some aid is awarded first come, first served, and being early costs nothing.What this means

of 5 done

Spring

Courses and grades

Sit the AP exams anyway. Credit earned now is a semester you do not pay tuition for later.AP Courses for Credit

Applications

Compare offers on net price, not on the sticker price and not on the size of the award. The number that matters is what your family actually pays.What this means
Appeal a financial aid offer if your family’s circumstances have changed since you filed. There is a documented process for it and it is not a favour to ask.What this means
If you are waitlisted, answer whatever the college asks for and then commit somewhere else anyway. A waitlist is not a decision you can plan around.What this means
Deposit at one college by the common reply date and withdraw your other applications. Holding two places is against the agreement every college signed.What this means

of 5 done

Summer

Courses and grades

Take the placement tests seriously. They decide which course you start in, and starting a level low costs a semester.What this means

Activities and awards

Keep the summer job or the volunteering going. It is the last stretch of the record that is entirely yours to write.

Applications

Send the final transcript, complete the housing and orientation steps, and read everything the college posts to its own portal — that is where it will assume it told you.

of 3 done

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This checklist was last reviewed August 18, 2026.

Other grades

Speak with a college counselor See every test date this year