Autumn can be a stressful time for high school seniors. With college applications, scholarships, and possibly a rigorous schedule, seniors have a lot on their plate. 

Applying to College

College-bound seniors, if you haven’t started yet, it’s important to get going on your Common Application. Found at commonapp.org, you will have to create an account, and then you can start your application. 

You’ll start by entering basic information, answering some multiple choice questions, and then completing your personal essay. Once you have the general information part of the application done, you can start applying to colleges. Clicking the search icon on the left side of the screen will take you to the college search, type in the college you are interested in and hit “+Add.” For each college you add to your application, you’ll have questions and supplemental writing specific to that college that you must answer before you can apply. 

If you find yourself struggling with your essays, English teacher Chris Aducci is holding Panther Plus sessions to help with those, and don’t hesitate to ask any of the other English teachers for advice as well.

While most colleges are part of the Common Application, there are some that make you apply directly to the school on their website. For example, if you wish to apply to any of the University of California campuses, there is a separate application for the University of California, and once completed, you can pick which campus(es) you would like your application sent to.

Make sure to talk to your counselor about sending in a copy of your transcript to the CommonApp portal. Another important aspect of the application process in letters of recommendation. Ask multiple teachers that have had you in class for at least one trimester, but preferably more, or even teachers that sponsor your clubs. Give the teacher a heads up at least a few weeks in advance so they have time to write a thoughtful letter. Colleges prefer to see at least one of the recommendations come from a core curriculum teacher – math, science, or English. 

Some applications are due as early as mid-October, but most deadlines start on or after November 1st. 

Scholarships

College is expensive. Financial aid is an important factor of your education. The first step is to fill out the FAFSA, a tool used to determine financial aid and needed to accept scholarships. Information on how to complete the FAFSA can be found here: Helpful tips on the FAFSA. The form officially opens October 1st, 2025. 

You’ll be able to apply for scholarships for your specific school once you get accepted and commit to it, so as of right now, there’s not many scholarships out. But there are a few nationwide scholarships, such as the Coca-Cola Scholarship, that you can apply to now. An easy resource to find scholarships is Big Future. If you have an account on there where you have received test scores, they’ll have a list of scholarships that you are eligible for. 

College Tours

Another important resource that seniors should take advantage of is college tours. South offers juniors and seniors three excused days for college tours. Tours are very important for the decision making process of where you might commit.