Senior-year checklist for college admissions

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 for where you’ll go next fall. Work hard this year and finish strong, you’ll be thankful you did come June.

SEPTEMBER

REGISTER FOR FALL TEST: If you have not already, register for any tests you plan to take this fall, make sure you are taking the appropriate tests for the schools where you plan to apply. Verify on the Admissions webpages for each school.
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION: If necessary, request letters of recommendation from teachers via Naviance and confirm with teachers that letters are in progress.
ESSAYS: Continue to work on your admissions essays and use the College Corp volunteers available in our College & Career Center.
COLLEGE VISITS:
- Attend college admission representative visits to help finalize your list of schools and gain information on schools where you have decided to apply.
- Take every opportunity to gather as much information as possible.
- Many representatives visit Newport (check Naviance for the schedule) and many others visit the community (check your college’s website for dates and appointments).
- Admissions departments track the students that meet with or visit them. They want to admit students who have demonstrated a strong interest in accepting admission.
SENIOR BLITZ: Come prepared for your senior blitz appointment with your counselor. Bring any questions you have about graduation requirements or college applications. Review your transcripts with your counselor and report any inaccuracies immediately.
BY OCTOBER 1ST: Complete any forms required by your counselor for letters of recommendation and counselor reports; counselors will send their letters of recommendation and school reports to all applicable schools listed in your Naviance account under “Schools I am Applying To.”

OCTOBER

TEST: If you have registered for any tests, give it your best shot. This will be one of the last opportunities to take the ACT and SAT before applying.
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 in Naviance for your transcripts to be sent.
APPLICATIONS: Continue working on your application essays and use the College Corp volunteers in the College and Career Center. Keep track with a spreadsheet of each component of each of your applications and make sure they are completed on time. An incomplete application will be rejected.
SUPER WEDNESDAY: Your English teachers will be available during Super Wednesday for assistance with your college essays. Make sure to have a good start on your essays before this point, so you can take advantage of this time for feedback and editing.
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, visit the advisor in our College and Career Center.
CSS PROFILE: Confirm if any schools you are applying to require the CSS Profile for financial aid and make note of the deadline for filing the form.

NOVEMBER – JANUARY

TESTS: If necessary, register and take the December SAT or ACT, this will be your last chance to take these tests for the current admission cycle.
APPLICATIONS:
- Complete your applications for college admissions and request through Naviance to have your transcripts sent.
- Also confirm that your test scores have been sent. 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.).
RESEARCH FINANCIAL AID: There are a plethora of scholarships available each year and many go unclaimed. Research online or come to the College and Career Center for resources on finding and applying for scholarships and financial aid.
FINANCIAL AID INFORMATION NIGHT: Attend the Financial Aid Information Night held each year, the date and location will be announced in advance and posted on the NHS website.
FASFA: Submit your FASFA (Free Application for Financial Aid) after January 1^st. This income declaration form is required for nearly all financial aid. The information is kept confidential. The government uses the information you report to determine your family’s “ability to pay.” That amount is shared with colleges where you have requested that the information be sent. You make the request when you fill out the form.
EARLY DECISION:
- If you have been admitted to a college through early decision, you need to notify the other schools where you applied.
- You also must submit all necessary forms to the college offering early-decision admission. Congratulations!
MID-YEAR GRADES: If your college requests mid-year grades, make sure these are sent on time. You can verify with our Registrar.

FEBRUARY – APRIL

FAFSA: If you completed the FASFA, 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 right away if there are any errors.
APPLICATIONS:
- Confirm that all the colleges where you applied have sent a receipt of application. If you haven’t received this from one or more 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. 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 receive an offer of admission.
- If you have ruled out any colleges which have accepted you, notify them ASAP. 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 scholarships. As previously noted, many go unclaimed! Come see our College & Career Advisor in the Library for assistance and resources.
OPEN HOUSES: Some colleges will host open houses for admitted students. Attend these when applicable as this is 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 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 you losing your financial aid.

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 through Naviance to have your final transcripts and any necessary end-of-the-year reports sent to your college.
NAVIANCE: Update Naviance with your college selection.
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 NHS faculty.

On behalf of everyone at Newport High School, we wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors!