There isn’t any set number of hours or type of service you need to do for your college applications. What will be most impressive to a college will be consistent, long-term service. Even better is if you are using your talents and/or fulfilling a clear need in your community.

You may start to get acceptances from rolling and early action schools now. After all your hard work, that’s the best news ever! Keep track of anything required, but in general, you should hang tight even while the school sends you approximately 967 emails each day pressuring you to commit. Under no circumstance should you put down an enrollment deposit-- you can only put down an enrollment deposit at one school-- until you are certain you want to attend the school.

There's plenty to do early on in your high school career to help you prepare for college applications and admissions. From choosing the right high school courses, Whether or not to prepare for the SATs, ACTs, and AP/IB exams, What activities to engage in, Relationships with teachers and mentors, and College research.

You may be ready to take college admissions tests as early as freshman or sophomore year if you have completed math courses through Algebra II (including Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II) and are a strong test taker.

Some students have acceptances already because they may have applied under a Rolling admissions deadline. Many public schools and private schools with high acceptance rates fill the class as applications come in.

Which High School Activities Really Matter for College Admissions? This blog covers a few common pitfalls I’d like to warn you against as you go through high school.