Senior Application Timeline
A month-by-month planning view for the 2026 to 2027 application cycle. Use it to see how essays, list strategy, deadlines, interviews, aid, decisions, and waitlists overlap.
Month Duration Timeline
Application season at a glance
Months run left to right. Rows are workstreams, bars show duration, and compact markers show major hard deadlines.
Senior-year phases
Details
UC + Common App
Now through the end of July, keep UC PIQs and the Common App Personal Essay at the center. The goal is to draft, revise, and clarify the core stories before senior-year workload hits.
Details
UC + Common App
May to July
Now through the end of July, keep UC PIQs and the Common App Personal Essay at the center. The goal is to draft, revise, and clarify the core stories before senior-year workload hits.
How to read this
This view is for planning overlap: essays, college list strategy, applications, aid, interviews, decisions, and waitlists can all sit in the same month without competing for the same visual space.
Deadline caveat
Portfolio, merit scholarship, CSS Profile, and FAFSA priority deadlines still need to be checked college by college.