With hindsight I recommend prep for tests (SAT / ACT / SAT subject tests) all through high school. Kahn academy account and go.
Call the guidance counselor and make a meeting (end of junior year or start of senior year). Let them see your face and know you are invested in college efforts. Talk about what type of program DC is looking for. Open up the lines of communication and stay in touch.
Summer before senior year have the essay figured out (this is where I fell off, and DCs high school was supposed to have that worked on in school. I was being hands off and did not pressure to read it and lo and behold it is time to submit applications and there was no essay written! What had been “worked” on was incoherent gibberish. So, a deep breath and as calmly as possible talked DC through some of their better ideas to come up with one last minute essay.)
Figure out your budget. Apply to many schools. All someplace DC would enjoy going and which could make sense for you.
Visit while students are around.

Not sure what public school the earlier poster was familiar with, but ours required all students to meet with counselor to discuss college list late summer before or early fall of, senior year.

Summer before senior year: write your essay.

Anonymous wrote:Prep for SAT/ACT summer before junior year.

Take the test fall of junior year and again in spring of junior year

Tour colleges starting summer before junior year

apply fall/winter of senior year

If you’re in a public school, you will likely never speak to the counselor.

Good advice but I’d argue that visits should be when school is in session. Empty summer campuses are weird and don’t give much of a flavor.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of the things that really helped my DC was the 2 or 3 day session his school (McLean HS) offered in the summer at minimumal cost. They got the students on the Common AP and filled out a large portion on it, they heard from people at various schools who read applications, they worked on their essay and received feedback. All in August. It really got the ball rolling and made the fall much less stressful.

They did not have that for my older DC, but he wanted something that summer and we made it contingent on writing a decent draft of the essay and that worked. Plus he had an excellent English teacher that fall that worked on the essay in class. Younger DC’s teacher did not do this.

Both got their all their applications in before Nov1-so the rest of the year was much nicer. Don’t wait until the day before- the College Board and the Common AP have had their glitches and one came on Oct 31 one year and it messed up quite a few students.

None of the above happened at our FCPS school. Kids were pretty much on their own. No instruction on the common app, no essay help.

+1

OP here. We do not have any of this either, that is one of the reasons I am crowd sourcing.

If you are thinking of playing a sport, this all flies out the window.

Anonymous wrote:One of the things that really helped my DC was the 2 or 3 day session his school (McLean HS) offered in the summer at minimumal cost. They got the students on the Common AP and filled out a large portion on it, they heard from people at various schools who read applications, they worked on their essay and received feedback. All in August. It really got the ball rolling and made the fall much less stressful.

They did not have that for my older DC, but he wanted something that summer and we made it contingent on writing a decent draft of the essay and that worked. Plus he had an excellent English teacher that fall that worked on the essay in class. Younger DC’s teacher did not do this.

Both got their all their applications in before Nov1-so the rest of the year was much nicer. Don’t wait until the day before- the College Board and the Common AP have had their glitches and one came on Oct 31 one year and it messed up quite a few students.

None of the above happened at our FCPS school. Kids were pretty much on their own. No instruction on the common app, no essay help.

One of the things that really helped my DC was the 2 or 3 day session his school (McLean HS) offered in the summer at minimumal cost. They got the students on the Common AP and filled out a large portion on it, they heard from people at various schools who read applications, they worked on their essay and received feedback. All in August. It really got the ball rolling and made the fall much less stressful.

They did not have that for my older DC, but he wanted something that summer and we made it contingent on writing a decent draft of the essay and that worked. Plus he had an excellent English teacher that fall that worked on the essay in class. Younger DC’s teacher did not do this.

Both got their all their applications in before Nov1-so the rest of the year was much nicer. Don’t wait until the day before- the College Board and the Common AP have had their glitches and one came on Oct 31 one year and it messed up quite a few students.

Anonymous wrote:Prep for SAT/ACT summer before junior year.

Take the test fall of junior year and again in spring of junior year

Tour colleges starting summer before junior year

apply fall/winter of senior year

If you’re in a public school, you will likely never speak to the counselor.

Good advice above. We also did SAT subject tests freshman, sophomore and junior. You don’t want to overload junior year.

Anonymous wrote:Prep for SAT/ACT summer before junior year.

Take the test fall of junior year and again in spring of junior year

Tour colleges starting summer before junior year

apply fall/winter of senior year

If you’re in a public school, you will likely never speak to the counselor.

Although you can speak with the counselor if you email and make an appointment. If you only get one meeting, Jan/Feb junior year is a good time for it.

Prep for SAT/ACT summer before junior year.

Take the test fall of junior year and again in spring of junior year

Tour colleges starting summer before junior year

apply fall/winter of senior year

If you’re in a public school, you will likely never speak to the counselor.

What is a good time line for SAT/ACT prep, taking the tests, college visits, talking to the (not very helpful) school counselor, and the timeline for college prep/applications? DH and I are disagreeing on how to do this.