Generally speaking, two years from the beginning of senior one to the summer vacation of senior two is the preparation period. The key point is to prepare for standardized tests (TOEFL and SAT), understand what they are and the basic requirements for candidates (vocabulary, reading speed, writing level) and attend a training class for the corresponding tests. At the same time, I actively participate in various competitions and extracurricular activities, and cultivate my abilities in all aspects, including organizing and leading, communicating with all kinds of people, speaking in public, managing my time and so on. Don't stick to the knowledge in class and vocabulary in books, actively expand extracurricular learning and pay attention to the all-round development of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Sophomore summer vacation: understanding the university

July: Understand the basic situation of American universities: classification, geographical distribution, enrollment process, policies, and various employment options after graduation. Focus on comprehensively collecting information about 20-30 schools that you are interested in. Make sure to choose 5- 15 school to apply for, a balanced guaranteed school, a realistic school and a challenging school. Make personal application documents, indicating the basic situation of each target school, the required application materials, the application deadline, the contact person and their contact information, and highlighting the matters that need special attention. Sign up for the SAT in autumn.

August: Ask for application materials as early as possible to create conditions for early admission. Early admission is a special category in American university enrollment. Generally, the application deadline for early admission is 65438+ 10 or 165438+ 10, sometimes earlier. Write an application article. Although the application article is generally limited to 1000 words, an excellent application article will usually be revised and polished dozens of times, which can not be completed in one month. So everyone must do it as soon as possible. I began to sum up my high school life: studies, social work, leadership experience, and feelings about life. Select references and contact letters. Have a comprehensive and in-depth face-to-face communication with your referees to let them know your personality, personality, ideas, ideals and your expectations of them. Make them realize the importance of their help to realize your dream. Give them enough time to write letters of recommendation and make you shine. Senior three: start implementation

September: Fill in the application form. After writing the application article, revise it repeatedly, and ask your own teachers, parents, friends and experienced people to help you check. What we often see is that some authors like an article written by themselves so much that they are reluctant to delete it even if it has nothing to do with the center they want to express. Asking others to help you revise can not only avoid this mistake, but also brainstorm and push your article to a new height. Contact your references and ask about the progress of the letters of recommendation. Try to get all the letters of recommendation by the end of September. If you ask your referees to submit letters of recommendation online, don't forget to ask them to provide submission records.

10 month: take the SAT exam and send the results to the university. The application deadline for early admission in some schools may be June 5438+ 10, so be ready to send the first batch of application materials. Remember to make a copy of every application sent. Online application can send your application safely and quickly through the network when you are short of time, so as not to miss the deadline. Contact the admissions office to confirm that the materials have been received and there are no missing materials.

1 1 month: send the second batch of application materials. If you took the SAT in February 65438 or in February 65438 10, keep on trying!

12 months: all applications are completed. Remember to make a copy of every application sent. Prepare for a telephone interview. Some early admission decisions will be announced in mid-June, 5438+February or before Christmas, waiting for good news.

1 month: most early admission decisions will be announced this month, and some schools will ask you to send back your report card from last semester of senior three. This is called "mid-year report".

February: You may have got the admission notice, or you may still be waiting. All schools want to see a beautiful report card for the next semester of senior three. The admission notices of some schools require that you must achieve certain grades before you can enter the school. Remember that the letter of admission is only the beginning, far from the end, and you still have a lot of work to do.

March-May: Admission notice and scholarship notice arrive one after another. Read all the documents, letters and emails you receive carefully. Some require you to make a decision or react before a specified date. If you have decided the school you want to go to, fill out the application form and send it back to the school together with the deposit check. Most schools require students to make a final decision before May 1 day. Otherwise, your admission notice will no longer take effect. Prepare visa materials and visa training. You can choose to have a visa interview 120 days before the start of school to avoid the visa peak in July and August and get a visa as soon as possible.

Send a letter to those schools that you have received the admission notice but have decided not to go, thank them politely for accepting you and tell you that you are going to other schools. Reject your admission notice as soon as possible, and the school can consider applicants who are still on the waiting list as soon as possible. If you are on the waiting list, don't be discouraged. Keep in touch with the staff of the admissions office. Tell them that you are still interested in their school, wait for their decision, and supplement the latest report card and the activities you participated in to help them get to know you better.

June: the preparation period before departure. Handle passports, visas, prepare luggage, contact the airport to pick up and stay, book air tickets, and so on. Have a pleasant summer vacation and be reunited with your family. Strengthen oral practice, learn American culture and customs, and prepare for the new semester.