College App Summer Checklist 📝

Hey y'all,

Hope the school year is wrapping up nicely! While the summer is a great time to relax and enjoy the sun, it's also a great opportunity to bolster your college applications.

Here's my advice on what you can do during these next few months to improve your admissions chances!

And before I jump in, check out Next Admit if you need help with your college essays this fall. We have a team of Ivy League consultants ready to provide detailed feedback in as little as 24 hours.

Summer After 9th Grade

✅ Explore Extracurriculars

Start within your school. Which new clubs or organizations could you join in the fall? Which ones do you want to drop? Which ones do you want to continue?

Then, look outside your school. Are there community organizations that interest you? What about competitions? You can also create something centered around your interests, like a blog, YouTube channel, or business.

You could also kickstart some extracurriculars over the summer. For example, part-time jobs are not only a great way to earn money and gain work experience, but also bolster your resume for college applications.

✅ Pursue an Academic Interest

The first two years of high school are a great time to explore broad interests and decide which ones you want to pursue.

Spend time this summer diving in deeper—whether online, through books, or even on Reddit, get lost in the nitty-gritty of behavioral psychology, wind energy, cloud computing, etc.

Taking this time to research will help you discover where your true interests lie. And once you’ve figured that out, you can begin planning how to pursue these interests throughout high school.

✅ Upgrade Your Study System

Reflect on your academic performance this past year. What worked, and what didn’t? Were you getting enough sleep? What assignments did you struggle with most? What changes can you make going into 10th grade?

Consider upgrading your study system. This includes using a planner, finding a study buddy who aligns with your goals, schedule, and work ethic, and researching study methods, such as spaced repetition and active recall.

✅ Visualize Next Summer

I know this summer has barely begun, but research internships, camps, project ideas, and other summer programs that might be worth pursuing next summer.

Note relevant application dates, as some deadlines are set as early as the fall. This way, you can begin thinking about how to craft your applications while you have spare time to do so.

Summer after 10th Grade

✅ Pursue Your Passions

Consider pursuing a personal project or initiative that is meaningful to you—one that will demonstrate your work ethic, maturity, and specific interests to colleges. Often referred to as a “passion project,” this will likely be one of your top activities when it’s time to apply. As such, it should represent multiple years of hard work and dedication.

This project might end up being your “spike” in your applications! For instance, my friend started a tree-planting initiative during his junior year of high school—which he continued throughout college!

His passion project got so big that in 2023 alone, his organization planted over 20,000 trees by working with over 300 schools.

✅ Think about Your Transcript

Create a plan for the courses you’d like to take before graduating—courses that will best prepare you for your future and your college applications. If your goal is the top colleges, you should maximize your course rigor.

This means planning the AP, IB, and Honors classes you want to take. If needed, you should also review material from the courses you struggled with last year to ensure you’re ready to take on the higher-level courses.

✅ Prepare for the SAT/ACT

Start thinking about whether you want to take the SAT or the ACT.

As you begin studying for these tests, look into Khan Academy and the College Board's official practice exams. Be relentless about your mistakes and give yourself at least a month of preparation before your first exam.

With more schools bringing back testing requirements each year, I recommend everyone take one of these tests just in case.

Summer After 11th Grade

✅ Prepare Your College List

Start thinking about which schools you’d like to apply to. As you make your list, take the time to research each college and its offerings. If possible, visit colleges in person or virtually.

Your list should contain three buckets: safety schools, target schools, and reach schools. You should also consider whether and where you might apply EA/ED.

Subscribe to the Next Admit Newsletter for a comprehensive guide to building your college list later this summer!

✅ Start Drafting Essays

Summer is a great time to start your college essays.

Keep a running document or note where you jot down any ideas that come to you. Write down objects, events, topics, sounds, smells—anything that could inspire a college essay topic.

Also, take a look at the supplemental essays for the different colleges on your list. Although colleges will update their supplements on August 1st (when the Common App opens), most prompts tend to stay the same.

✅ Prepare Recommendation Letters

Figure out which two teachers you'd like to ask for recommendation letters—ideally, one STEM teacher and one humanities teacher.

Ask these teachers in person at the start of the school year and follow up with a brag sheet, which is a quasi-resume that can provide your teachers with material to include in their letters. You don't want your teacher to rehash the brag sheet, but rather to use it as inspiration.

Summer After 12th Grade

✅ Gather Your College Essentials

Start researching dorm supplies, what supplies are already provided by your college, and price-compare your to-buy list.

Remember, over-packing isn’t necessarily good—your dorm room likely has limited storage space. Plus, you can always buy any supplies you forget during the semester.

Just identify the essentials and keep them organized!

✅ Prepare for College-Level Academics

Research the courses you’re interested in and the professors you’d like to work with. Consider which major(s) interest you most and whether you want to add a minor or a language citation. But don’t worry! You likely won’t have to declare a major until your sophomore year.

Regardless, remember that you were accepted into this college for a reason: because you are qualified and deserving to attend! Even if college-level academics sound intimidating, you can handle it.

✅ Relax

This is your final summer before college; in a few months, you will have all kinds of new, adult responsibilities. You might be moving far from home to attend college, and so might many of your high school friends.

Rest, relax, spend time with your friends, and be proud of what you have accomplished. You’re about to enter a new stage of life!

What did you think about this newsletter? What do you want to see in the future? Feel free to DM me on Instagram to let me know (@goharsguide).

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

And if you need help with college applications, check out Next Admit! We have a team of Ivy League consultants eager to help you navigate the admissions process.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar