What Rising Seniors Must Do in April and May Before Applications Open

Your junior is in the final stretch of 11th grade and the college application process feels like it is still months away. But here is what most families miss: April and May, the two months before summer, are the highest-leverage window in the entire college admissions process. What rising seniors do in April and May before applications open determines how prepared, calm, and competitive they will be when senior year starts. Let me walk you through exactly what to do.

Priority One: Request Recommendation Letters by May 15

I cannot overstate how important it is to ask for recommendation letters before school ends for the year. Teachers who agree to write letters in May have the full summer to write them thoughtfully. Teachers who are asked in September and October are writing 20 or 30 letters simultaneously while managing a full teaching load. The quality of the letter, and the care that goes into it, is almost always better when requested early.

Your student should identify two teachers from junior year, ideally in core academic subjects, and one additional recommender who knows them well. Meet with each teacher in person if possible. Provide a brief written summary of your student’s goals and what they hope the teacher might highlight. Do not just hand them a Common App invite link with no context.

Priority Two: Finalize Your College List This Spring

The college list your student is working with should be substantially finalized by the end of junior year. Not locked in stone, but no more than 10 to 14 schools across three clear tiers: two to three reach schools, five to seven target schools, and two to three safety schools.

Research each school deeply enough that your student can name specific programs, professors, or opportunities that genuinely interest them. This research becomes the content of supplemental essays, which open in August. Students who have not done this research write generic supplemental essays that admissions readers recognize immediately.

Priority Three: Finalize Your Test Strategy

If your student has not yet hit their target score on the SAT or ACT, May is the time to decide: are you going to test again senior year? If yes, when? Schedule those tests now. Fall test dates fill quickly. June SAT is the last test of junior year and scores come back before summer, giving your student one more data point before deciding whether senior year tests are necessary.

Know the testing policies at every school on your list. Most schools are still test optional. But for students with strong scores, submitting them is almost always an advantage. For students with below-average scores for a target school, understand whether submitting or withholding serves them better.

Priority Four: Start the Activities Resume

The Common App Activities section gives your student 10 slots to describe their most significant extracurricular activities in 150 characters each. This is harder than it sounds. Start building and refining the activities list now.

For each activity, answer: what exactly did you do, in numbers where possible? What was the impact? What was your specific role? 150 characters is tight. Writing a draft version of each activity description in April gives you four months to refine it before the real thing opens.

Priority Five: Begin Essay Brainstorming

Do not wait until summer to start the Common App essay process. Brainstorming takes time and reflection. Do the brainstorming exercises in April while your student still has the full context of junior year in their mind. Great essay topics often come from experiences that just happened, not from trying to recall something meaningful from three years ago.

Commit to writing one rough draft version of the main essay before summer starts. Even a messy draft is better than starting from zero in August.

What to Do With the Summer

If the April and May to-dos above are handled, summer becomes what it should be: a time for meaningful activity, rest, and essay drafting. Students who spend summer in panic mode trying to figure out their college list, request rec letters last minute, and write their first essay draft in August make exhausted, rushed applications. Do the foundational work now.

Frequently Asked Questions: What Rising Seniors Must Do in April and May

When should a rising senior ask for recommendation letters?

Ask by May 15 of junior year, before school ends for the summer. This gives teachers the full summer to write a thoughtful, unhurried letter. Teachers asked in September and October are writing dozens of letters under pressure. Early requests get better letters. That is not speculation; it is what teachers tell me directly.

Is it too early to finalize a college list in April of junior year?

No. You will refine the list over the summer and into senior fall, but having a working list of 10 to 14 schools by the end of junior year is exactly the right timeline. Students who are still building their list in October of senior year are writing supplemental essays without having done the deep research those essays require.

Should a rising senior take the SAT or ACT in June?

If your student needs one more testing opportunity, the June SAT is a strong option. Scores return before summer ends, giving your student the information they need to decide whether retesting senior year is necessary. Do not leave test strategy ambiguous heading into senior year.

What should a rising senior do over the summer for college applications?

Draft and revise the Common App essay, research specific programs and supplemental essay topics at target schools, and continue meaningful activities. Students who use summer for a structured, productive experience and come back with a drafted essay are dramatically better positioned than students who let summer pass without progress.

How do you narrow down a college list in junior year?

Narrow by eliminating schools that do not genuinely excite your student, schools where the academic fit is clearly off, schools where the financial investment is not justified, and schools where the campus culture does not fit your student’s personality. Keep schools where your student can name specific reasons, not just rankings, for their interest.