AP’s are done! Can’t wait for summer!

The last AP exam is over. The pencils are down, the Bluebook app is closed, and your brain feels like it’s been through a washing machine. For weeks, it’s been review sessions, practice tests, and the quiet dread of MCQ’s or FRQ’s or DBQ’s.

So glad that’s over and now it’s time for summer! 

But now what? 

If you’re a junior, you’re going into a pivotal summer of your high school journey. If you’re a sophomore, you’ve got time to build some momentum. And if you’re a freshman who just completed your first AP season ever, great job! 

Remember that high school is a marathon so pace yourself: summer is a vital time for rest, and also a time to refocus. The students who use this window of time well aren’t the ones who sign up for more academic programs. They’re the ones who do the right things with the right pacing, which includes having fun and resting too. 

For Juniors: Your Application Summer Starts Now

Let’s be direct. If you’re a rising senior, this summer is when the real work begins, and it has almost nothing to do with academics. The AP scores will land in July, and they’ll say what they say. What matters now is everything else around your academics: your story, your school list, your essays, your future plans. 

The May checklist (do these now before school ends):

• ‍Ask for recommendation letters. Identify two teachers, ideally from this junior year, in core subjects (usually related to your intended major or where you did your strongest work), and ask them before summer starts. Teachers who get early requests have more time to write better letters. Give them a brief summary of your goals by sharing your student resume, and anything specific you’d like them to address.
• ‍Thank your AP teachers. This isn’t strategy. It’s just the right thing to do. These people invested significant time in preparing you for those exams. A handwritten “Thank you” note goes a long way. ‍
• ‍Make sure your transcript is clean. Check with your counselor that your grades are accurately recorded and that there are no missing credits or flagged issues. You don’t want to discover a transcript error in October.

The June–July plan: what to actually do

‍Build your college list, for real this time.

‍Not a dream list. Not a rankings list. A strategic list, schools where your profile is competitive, where the programs match your interests, and where your family can realistically afford the cost. A strong list has balance: a few ambitious reach colleges, several targets, and two or three schools where admission is highly likely and you’d genuinely be happy to attend. 

Most students have a loose list by the end of junior year. This summer is when you tighten it. Read department pages. Watch student vlogs. Look up faculty research. Check net price calculators. A school that seems perfect based on vibes might be financially out of reach, and a school you’ve never heard of might offer exactly the program, location, and price point your family needs.‍
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Start your Common App personal statement. ‍

The prompts are already available. You don’t need to wait for August 1.

This is the essay that matters most, and it cannot be written in a weekend. The best personal statements aren’t about the most impressive thing you’ve done, they’re about the thing that’s most you. A moment of realization. A small, specific story that reveals how you think. The time you failed and what you actually learned from it (not the polished version, the real one).

Start by brainstorming. Write down 5 - 10 moments, experiences, or observations throughout your childhood up to now, that have shaped who you are. Don’t filter. Then pick two or three and try writing a page about each. Most of these drafts will be terrible. That’s the point. You’re finding your voice, and that takes time. 

By the end of July, you should have a solid draft, not a finished product, but something you can refine in August and September.
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Research supplemental essay prompts.

‍Many schools release their supplemental prompts in June and July. These are the “Why this school?” essays, the community essays, the intellectual curiosity essays. They require research, you need to know enough about each school to write something specific and genuine.

Start a spreadsheet or document where you track each school’s prompts, major choices and the key details you want to reference. This is unglamorous work, but it saves you enormous stress in the fall. 
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Retake the SAT or ACT, or decide not to.

‍If you’re planning to test (or retest) in the fall, this summer is your last prep window. You just spent months in high-intensity study mode for APs, so your academic stamina is high. Channel some of that energy into test prep while the mental academic muscles are warm.

If you’ve already decided to go test-optional, that’s fine, but make sure you understand each school’s policy. “Test-optional” means different things at different institutions. Some schools are genuinely indifferent. Others still give a meaningful admissions boost to strong scores. Know what you’re choosing and why.
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Do something that isn’t college admissions.‍

Get a job. Volunteer. Travel with your family. Read books or watch movies that have nothing to do with school. Learn to cook. Go hiking. Spend time with friends before senior year scatters everyone. 

The students who write the most compelling applications are the ones who have lived—with experiences and perspectives and stories that come from engaging with their world, not just optimizing for admissions. Your life is authentic because it’s your own, and you want to express that by investing in the things that matter to you. 

For Sophomores: You’re Ahead of the Game

If you just finished AP exams as a sophomore, whether it was AP World History, AP Computer Science, or something else, you’re in a great position. You’re proving that you can handle the academic rigor. Now the question is: what do you want to keep exploring?

This summer is for further discovery. You’re not building a college list yet. You’re building yourself. 

• ‍Read widely. Fiction, nonfiction, whatever pulls you in. Students who read for pleasure develop stronger analytical skills, bigger vocabularies, and more interesting perspectives, all of which show up in their writing and interviews years later.‍
• Explore an interest. If you loved your AP subject, go deeper. If you hated it, try something completely different. The goal isn’t to rack up credentials, it’s to start figuring out what you actually care about. ‍
• Don’t worry about “wasting” the summer. A sophomore who spends the summer working at a local business, volunteering at a food bank, or building a website for fun is doing exactly the right thing. Admissions officers aren’t looking for the polished résumé. They’re looking for intellectual curiosity, community initiative, and relational growth over time.

For Freshman: Nice job! 

If you just took your first AP exam as a freshman, congratulations on diving into the challenge! You made it through demanding college-level coursework during your first year in high school and now it’s time to figure out what kind of summer you’d like to have. 

Keep an open mind! During the school year perhaps you joined some clubs, tried pursuing this sport or that instrument or that volunteering. Figure out what you want to continue pursuing and if there are commitments, like athletic camps, competition training, skill lessons, etc. incorporate those into your summer schedule. 

• It’s a bit early but not too early to consider when you want to try for the SAT or ACT. More colleges are becoming test optional each year so it’s a good time to take a diagnostic test and see where your strengths and weaknesses lie with a standardized test. ‍
• Consider what you’re definitely not interested in (and then what you actually might be interested in). With a year of high school done, you’ve had some time to see, observe and listen to what other upperclassmen are doing and figure out what things you know you’re not interested in. Then there might be a more vague category of potential interests you are curious about. Consider how you want to foster those curiosities, through resources like Coursera online courses, Pre College programs or camps (in-person or virtual), community college courses, and internships or job shadowing programs. ‍
• Enjoy the summer. Learning how to rest and have fun is an important part of persevering well through the high school years. Spend time with the people you love and who inspire you to become a better person. Be an inspiration for others too by developing your hobbies, talents and skills. Take time to try new things like scuba diving, cooking new recipes, or traveling. All of these experiences, including times of rest and fun, are contributing to who you are, what you learn in life, and what you can share with others.