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SENIOR CHECKLIST


Welcome to your senior year! This will be an exciting and emotional year as you complete the final leg of your K-12 journey and make plans about where you’ll be next fall. Work hard this year and finish strong, you’ll be thankful you did in June.

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SEPTEMBER
 

  • REGISTER FOR FALL TESTS: If you choose to retake the SAT or ACT, sign up with Mrs. Park in September.  Don’t forget - each registration includes four free score reports.  If you know four universities to which you would like to apply, you may wish to utilize these free score reports.

  • LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: If necessary, confirm letters are in progress.

  • ESSAYS: Continue to work on your essays and supplemental questions.

  • SCHOLARSHIP & HONORS APPLICATIONS: Many scholarships and honors programs require a separate application.  Make sure to factor these into your timeline, task list, and complete them by the deadline (typically the college’s EA deadline).

  • ASSIGN RECOMMENDERS & YOUR COUNSELOR: For the Common Application, you need to assign Ms. Frankwick as your counselor and assign recommenders.  Doing so will send these people an email notification to submit their portion of your application.  For those universities that do not use the Common Application, most use a portal with a similar style, allowing you to input the contact information for your counselor and recommenders. 

  • KEEP IN MIND some universities require recommendations and your transcript be sent to them via email.  If so, make sure to inform your counselor and recommender of the email address to which the documents should be sent and by what date.

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OCTOBER
 

  • EARLY DECISION AND EARLY ACTION: If you are planning to apply early decision or early action, make sure to send your application before the deadline; also make a request for your transcripts to be sent to those universities that do not use the Common Application.

  • APPLICATIONS: Continue working on your application essays. Keep track of each component of all your applications and make sure they are completed on time; an incomplete application will be rejected.

  • FINAL COLLEGE LIST: If you haven’t already finalized the list of colleges you will be applying to, now is the time to do so. If you’re having trouble, come see Ms. Frankwick.

  • FAFSA or WASFA: If applying for federal financial aid, you must complete the FAFSA.  If you are not eligible for federal financial aid, you should complete the WASFA.  The difference and process will be outlined for parents in October during the Financial Assistance webinar.  

  • CSS PROFILE: Confirm if any schools you are applying to require the CSS Profile for financial Aid and make note of the deadline this must be filed by.

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NOVEMBER - JANUARY
 

  • APPLICATIONS: Complete your applications for regular decision, rolling admission, and early decision II . Make sure these are submitted completely and on time! Monitor your applications to be sure each school receives everything necessary (letters of recommendation, transcripts, and test scores, etc.).

  • TEST SCORES: Many, but not all, universities will allow you to self-report your exam score if you choose not to apply test-optional.  If/when you need to send an official score report, you must do so on the College Board or ACT website directly.  That is the only means of sending official score reports.

  • EARLY DECISION ROUND I: If you have been admitted to a college through ED I, you need to notify the other schools you have applied to and submit all necessary forms to the college you will be attending. Congratulations!

  • MID-YEAR GRADES: If your school requests mid-year grades, make sure these are sent on time.

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FEBRUARY - APRIL
 

  • APPRENTICESHIPS & U.S. ARMED FORCES: For those interested in going to work following high school graduation or joining a branch of the armed forces, now is the time to explore these opportunities.  Ms. Frankwick has cultivated a long list of apprenticeships available on Google Drive.  Please make an appointment with her to discuss your options.

  • FAFSA: f you completed the FASFA or WASFA, you should be receiving a Student Aid Report. Look over this carefully for accuracy as an error could cost you thousands of dollars. Contact FAFSA or WASFA right away if there are any errors.

  • APPLICATIONS: Confirm all the colleges you have applied to have sent a receipt of application; if you haven’t received this from any of your schools, follow up and make sure all components of your application were received. Do this well in advance of the due date so you have time to follow up on any possible missing pieces. Also, for any schools with rolling or late deadlines- do not put off applying! Spaces will fill up, so turn in your application early.

  • DECISIONS: Acceptance letters will begin to arrive. Think critically about where you’d like to be in the fall and what school is best aligned with your goals and personality. Compare your financial aid packages and ideally visit the campus before making any decisions. 

    • If you are waitlisted, find out more about the waitlist process at your particular school, but also begin to move ahead with other plans; you can always come back to this school if you get off the waitlist 

    • If you have ruled out any colleges which have accepted you notify them; this is a courtesy to other applicants and it will help colleges manage their waitlists and extend the correct number of acceptance letters.

  • SCHOLARSHIPS: Now that you have completed most, if not all of your applications, shift your focus to working on finding and applying for private scholarships. Review the presentations and resources we covered in the spring of your junior year and  see Ms. Frankwick for assistance.

  • OPEN HOUSES: Some colleges will host open houses for admitted students. Attend these when possible to help you finalize your decision.  This is also a good opportunity to get information about registering for housing, campus life and how to prepare for the fall.

  • MAY 1ST: Most schools have a decision and deposit deadline of May 1st. Formally accept your offer of admission IN ADVANCE of this deadline as instructed by your school and submit your housing application if you plan to live on campus in the fall. Formally accept any offers of financial aid. Not doing so will result in the revocation of your financial aid award.

  • DEFERRAL: If you plan on attending a gap year program you will need to follow the university’s instructions for requesting a deferral.

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MAY - JUNE
 

  • FINISH STRONG: Keep your grades up through graduation, you do not want to have your college acceptance rescinded because of poor end of the year performance.

  • FINAL TRANSCRIPTS: Request your final transcripts and any necessary end of the year reports sent to your college.

  • THANK YOU’S: Send thank you notes to anyone who helped you in your application process. They would love to hear where you have decided to go in the fall.

  • SCHOLARSHIPS AND LOANS: Continue to work on procuring scholarships and loans, update your college with any scholarships you receive.

  • GRADUATE: Enjoy and celebrate your accomplishments and success with your family, classmates, and the NYHS faculty. On behalf of everyone at Northwest Yeshiva High School, we wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors!  GO LIONS!

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