As seniors commit to a college, this year’s rising juniors are gearing up to start the college admissions process. While some wait till August or September to gather transcripts, scores, and recommendation letters, the summer between junior and senior year is crucial for a smooth college admissions process.

Senior Kyle Fryman said, “As soon as you know where you’ll be applying is the best time to get all the necessary paperwork together.” The first logical step to applying is putting together a list of potential colleges to apply to.

If visiting colleges—in state or out of state ones—is not an option, there are alternative methods to gathering reliable information about college requirements. Most colleges have profiles on College Board, the same site students make accounts on to register for the SAT. These profiles display what AP (and/or IB) scores the college will take, the SAT score breakdown, and other statistics about the college or university in question such as how many undergraduates there are or the acceptance rate.

An anonymous sophomore said, “I went on College Board once and it’s really helpful. For all the colleges I was interested in, I could see what the college’s top requirements were for applicants.”

Juniors can access these college profiles and save the college of their choice’s profile on their account. This can be done over the summer, or any time of the year.

Scholarships are another key part of a successful admissions process. Sites such as Fastweb allow users to create profiles so that they can be matched up with scholarships. Many of these scholarships are available to seniors and rising seniors, making it easy for current juniors to apply for these scholarships over the summer.

Fryman stated, “Scholarships are so important. A lot of people tend to think they’re not worth applying for, but the money adds up really quickly, so it’s something everyone should do.”

Some scholarships are specific to the field one may be interested in, while others allow participants to utilize skills other than writing. Scholarships range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars, making them worthwhile.

The school website also has a page listing available scholarships. To find it, go on the Seminole High School website and under the Guidance tab, click Paying for College.

While the summer is a great time to relax and forget about school, a head start on college choices and scholarships is a great way to minimize stress during the school year.

Junior Bahador Shojaee said, “This summer is dedicated to sorting out college matters as much as I can. I don’t want to overload myself during the school year. It’ll just pay off in the end, and I don’t think it’ll take that much time anyway.”