By: Erik Slagle

If you have a son or daughter navigating any stage of the college admissions process, you know how stressful this time of year can be. For freshmen, the pressure may not be on yet, but most students at all three other grade levels are feeling it. It’s time to slow down and enjoy a well-earned break and prepare to move into the new year on the right foot by planning – not stressing – now for what comes later.

SENIORS: For many seniors, they’ve made it through the most challenging part of the process – taking tests, writing essays, and completing applications. They may have even heard from a school or two if they applied for Early Action/Early Decision. Others may be thinking about schools with rolling deadlines, starting at a community college, going to trade school or even entering the job market. Whatever the plan, they should give themselves a short break for the holidays and know their action steps for 2025 – leaving them in a position to make the best decision possible when Graduation comes.

JUNIORS: Right about now, scores should be coming back from October’s PSAT – arming students with the best information to decide about when to take the SAT or ACT “for real.” Over the last few years, many juniors have decided to take the December offering before getting their PSAT results, giving them the experience of sitting for a test in a lower-stress environment. In general, I recommend juniors shoot for a first attempt at the SAT in March or May and plan for a second in August or October (depending on Early Decision or Action plans that come up with a closer inspection of their target schools).

Students have come around to the new, shorter, computer-based version of the SAT, which rolled out earlier this year. Still, many have opted to at least try the paper-based ACT. That test is slated to undergo some significant changes in 2025 – including moving to an online format – so for now the jury’s still out on which students the ACT might be “better” for. More to come on that early next year.

SOPHOMORES: Whether or not they tried the PSAT for practice this Fall, sophomores should concentrate on maintaining strong GPAs throughout the school year. There is no need to start any actual test prep until next summer, at the earliest, to help them prepare for the October 2025 PSAT – the one that “counts,” at least for specific scholarships. Practice SATs or ACTs wouldn’t hurt, but the second year of high school isn’t the most critical time to look ahead to standardized test options.

Everyone can afford to take a holiday break this time of year and enjoy the present – there’s plenty of time ahead to think about what’s coming next year. By pressing ‘pause’ and writing out a few key action steps to take starting in January, you can reduce stress and feel more in control of what can quickly become a chaotic whirlwind of deadlines, test dates, and extracurricular commitments … you know the rest. But remember that it’s all manageable, and we all deserve a holiday break!

Have a wonderful season – see everyone in 2025!