When Should You Start College Prep?

The nicest compliment a parent’s ever given me was a total lie.

“You’re a miracle worker.”

Her daughter, who was driven, brave, and supremely nice, had been admitted to the University of Michigan, UCLA, Boston College, and so many more.

This year, I was reminded that I am no miracle worker. I’m not even a magician.

Meet “Denise.” I did the August before her senior year.

She wanted to apply early decision to the Brown University direct medicine program, arguably one of the most competitive niches in the world. She was only interested in Ivies. In her mind, her safety was UCLA. Premed.

But…Denise had never taken the ACT. Brown required a score. So did most of her dream schools. She sat for the ACT in September.

26.

To be taken seriously at a BS/MD program like Brown, she needed a score above 34.

I begged Denise to look at test-optional schools. She wouldn’t. Northwestern was too cold. Vanderbilt, too Southern. She had a cemented vision of where she “saw herself at college” and didn’t have enough time to dream up a new one.

She retook the ACT while juggling five APs. She drafted essays between practice tests. There were tears, not happy homecoming photos.

By the time senior year starts, you should be done.

Done with testing. Done with your list. Done with your essays.

Done with figuring out who you are on paper.

If you’re starting in September, you’re already behind.

Senior year is the hardest academic year of your life. It’s also the year with your biggest leadership roles, your last seasons, your last shows, your last everything.

And now, early action is the norm. November 1 is not ambitious. It’s expected.

Every year, countless smart juniors accidentally sabotage their senior year. Not because they’re lazy. Not because they’re incapable.

Because they’re late.

If I had met Denise junior spring, everything would have changed. We map a real testing plan. If she can’t crack a 34, we have the mature conversation about strategy. We build a pre-med angle that makes sense. We craft essays with depth instead of desperation.

She still might not get Brown. But she doesn’t lose her senior year. And she doesn’t lose herself.

Junior year is the real starting line.

This is when we decide what your application is actually about. Not just what you did, but what it means.

More than 80 percent of admissions offices now use AI or predictive analytics to triage applications. If your story is vague or incoherent, it gets flagged.

Clarity takes time. Depth takes time. Turning a hobby into a hook takes time.

Summer is your only season with full bandwidth. It needs to produce something tangible. Admissions readers discount participation-only programs all the time. Showing up is not impressive. Output is.

Many things can work: A paper. A sculpture portfolio. A database. An album on Spotify. A body of work. Something that proves you don’t just attend, you create.

The strongest programs and support systems have February and March deadlines. If you wait until May, the good doors are already shut.

The test-optional era is shrinking. Harvard, Brown, and Cornell have reinstated requirements. In a world of inflated GPAs, a strong SAT or ACT score is one of the only clean comparison tools left.

That plan belongs in junior year. Not October panic.

Finish the essays before senior year starts.

Fifty-two percent of seniors say college applications are the most stressful academic experience of their lives. Fifty-seven percent admit they procrastinate on essays.

When you wait until senior year, you’re attempting to write the most important essays of your life while taking your hardest classes and leading everything.

If the essays sound rushed or generic, you will be rejected. Even with the grades. Even with the rigor. Even if you discovered a moon.

Essays carry equal weight.

If you are still “figuring out your list” in October, you'll miss out on money. Priority merit deadlines hit November 1 at schools like USC, Purdue, Ohio State, and Vanderbilt. Families lose thousands not because their student wasn’t strong, but because they were late.

Why not make the deadline August 31st?

By the time the first bell rings, the essays can be done. Applications are submitted or ready to send. You protect your GPA. You enjoy your homecoming. You walk into senior year steady, not spiraling.

If you’re a junior right now, this is your moment.

Not August.

Not “after finals.”

Now.

Don’t screw up senior year by starting too late.