1- If you haven’t already, make a list of all the colleges you’re interested in , get info/pamphlets on them and arrange them in those accordion file things. Print the applications and put each in its respective folder. Most of them should be CommonApp anyway.

2- Make a list of ALL the due dates of the college applications (they’re usually the first or second fri of January or something). You’ll know what pace you’re going at if the dates are right there in front of you.

3- Don’t worry i put off my college essay until Oct :). I wrote a first draft and asked my English teacher (not fun) to go over it. It was actually really helpful. Once you get over the hump of finishing the first draft it’s all editting and fixing stuff after that. No biggie. Buy a college essay book off Amazon if you need inspiration or something. A lot of colleges ask the same/similar questions for the supplemental part of their application, you can actually tweak the same answer and apply it to almost all the colleges.

4- Make envelopes for your teacher’s/counselor’s recommendations and give it to them ASAP. Make this a priority because if you give it too late you’ll annoy them or they won’t have time to finish it.

5- Don’t procrastinate! Once you start applications it gets much easier. Remember that your essay is not the entire basis of your acceptance — your SAT’s and your GPA are still what matter the most, and that you can’t really help right now.

Don’t stress over AP’s. As long as your teachers are good and you get 1 or 2 good review books then you’ll be fine. If your teachers are garbage then learn off of books and do the best you can. Just don’t lag behind in the work. Remember that CollegeBoard curves the tests by a lot and AP courses are just for credit for college. A lot of colleges take 4+ anyway.

Sorry for the long answer. Good luck :).