Class of 2027, You're Up!

Last August, I wrote a post called Class of 2027: Junior Year To-Do List. I shared it because parents were asking for it and because I had just lived it with my own kids.

The response was overwhelming. And the message I kept hearing, over and over from Class of 2026 parents, was some version of:

So this is your sooner.

The wind-down of junior year is exciting. You’re almost seniors. Privileges start to creep in. There’s this feeling of finally being at the top.

But at the same time, college admissions has sped up in a way a lot of families don’t fully grasp if it’s your first time around this block.

What used to feel like a senior-year process now starts much earlier and moves much faster. Auburn, for example, posts their application on August 1. First decision deadlines hit by mid-September.

So while it feels like you’re gearing up, the truth is you’ve already been gearing up for three years.

Next year is about execution. And in many ways, checklists. Fast.

I’ve seen it happen again and again. Students who are bright, capable, completely qualified, and still feel behind by August because summer slipped by before they really got started.

There’s another shift happening too.

After a few years of test-optional policies, more colleges are starting to require standardized testing again. Not all, but enough that it matters. The flexibility students had is narrowing.

Which means if testing is part of your plan, it needs to be part of your timeline now, not something you figure out in the fall.

So let me say this clearly: right now, this spring, is the best time to get ahead of it.

This doesn’t have to be a lot. Just a little.

Here’s what that actually looks like (And parents, consider this me backing you up. I know it can start to feel like nagging by senior year. Having another voice in the mix helps).

Start your college list if you haven’t already and keep it in one place

Open a spreadsheet and start tracking schools you’re curious about.

Include the basics. Reach, target, likely based on your GPA and test scores. Intended major. Whether there are supplemental essays. Deadlines for Early Decision, Early Action, and Regular Decision. Add scholarship or honors deadlines too.

This list will change, and that’s the point. But having it all in one place means nothing sneaks up on you later.

Wrap up your campus visits

Some colleges track demonstrated interest. That means they notice whether you’ve visited, attended an info session, or connected with admissions.

If there are schools you haven’t seen yet, summer is the time.

This is one of those things people tend to brush off, and it can matter more than you think.

Get familiar with the Common App now

The application opens August 1, but you don’t have to wait.

Start gathering what you’ll need. Where your parents went to college. Your activities. Time commitments. Honors and awards.

It takes longer than most students expect. Getting started now means you’re not doing it all in a rush later.

Draft your activities list

You get ten entries and 150 characters each. That’s not much space to explain four years of your life.

Start now if you haven’t been tracking it already. This is also a great habit for freshmen and sophomores.

Write out what you’ve done, what you actually contributed, any leadership, and how much time you spent.

Here’s one that really matters: the essay

This is where I see the most unnecessary stress.

Your essay is not a report or a list of accomplishments. It’s a story. Usually a small one. A specific one. An honest one.

It should help someone understand something about you that the rest of your application doesn’t show.

If a school is using essays, they are trying to picture you on their campus. How you think. What you notice. What matters to you.

The students who write the strongest essays are rarely the ones who sit down in October and force it.

They’re the ones who spend spring and summer paying attention. Writing things down. Talking through ideas. Letting something take shape over time.

You don’t need a draft right now. But you should start asking yourself:

The weirder the better.

What’s something true about me that doesn’t show up on my transcript?
What’s a small moment that changed how I see something?
What do I actually care about, and why?

If you tend to cram, you probably still will. But give yourself something to work with when you do. Set the phone aside for an hour every week and journal about what you care about, what you can’t stop talking about, and feel the most passionate about in relation to what you think you might want to study. It’ll come in handy.

August feels far away. But I wrote that junior year post on August 10, and even that felt late to some families.

Trickle into senior year now. In four months, it’s a fire hose.