The College Application Timeline: “Month of July”

Hello everyone! I’ve decided that I’ll be creating a series of blog posts, titled “The College Application Timeline.” In these posts, I’ll be going over a timeline for your applications, and suggestions for certain tasks to get done in time for submitting your applications. A new post will release at the beginning of each month, with details about my suggestions for that specific month. Read on to learn more about the month of July!

This is a great month to get started on your college applications. You’ll have ample time to work on your essays, letters of recommendation, and other parts of your application for approximately the next six months until it's time to submit. Therefore, it is completely okay if you haven’t even thought about applications yet.

Here are a couple of things you can do throughout the month of July to get a head start on your applications:

#1: Explore Colleges

Obviously, your first thought should be where you want to go to college. Do you want to stay in your home state or go out of state? Do you want to live in a big city, or live in a relatively small college town? Do you want to attend a huge in-state school with thousands of students, or do you want to attend a small liberal arts school?

There are so many different factors to consider when you’re thinking about colleges. Everyone is different, and everyone has different interests. It’s important that you look for a college that will best suit your educational needs and your various interests.

Try noting down the most important aspects of the school you wish to attend. This can be specific geographic locations, school size, majors and areas of study, etc. Make sure you know what you want, so you can look for schools accordingly.

Next, go through various college websites. You can even partake in virtual or in-person tours to get a feel for the college atmosphere. This can give you a better idea of what you want your college atmosphere to feel like.

By the end of the month, aim to have a list of several colleges that you may apply to. This list doesn’t have to be finalized, but it will help you narrow down your choices.

#2: Brainstorm for your Personal Statement

When you’re applying to schools through application portals like the Common App or Coalition App, you’ll submit one central application + personal statement to all the schools, and then answer any school-specific supplemental prompts.

The central/main personal statement is without a doubt one of the most important parts of your application. It gives all the schools that you’re applying to a sense of who you are.

Start to brainstorm topics that you may want to write about in your personal statement. This is an entirely personal section of the application, and you can literally write about anything you wish. There are several prompts offered through the Common App website, and similar processes through other portals.

These are definitely the two biggest things to focus on for the next month. Please feel free to contact me with any questions!

Until next time, bye!