The winter holiday period is only 10 days away and the majority of regular admission college applicants will use this time off from school to work on their college applications and essays. Using holiday vacation days to work on college application materials is a wise use of time, however, there are a few crucial tasks to complete before leaving school for the holidays.

1. Students need to secure recommenders. Student should ask their teachers and counselor for recommendations and provide them with the necessary information and forms to complete recommendations. If using the Common Application or Universal Application, students need to invite their teachers and counselor to submit recommendations online as soon as possible.

2. Order official copies of grade transcripts from the high school administration office. Students should avoid the rush of transcript requests that can occur in the days immediately before regular application deadlines (January 15 – February 1, 2010) by ordering their transcripts now. Official transcript copies can be stored in a file at home for retrieval when needed.

3. Print paper copies of applications and application supplements. Have paper copies of applications ready to be filled out by hand so when the time comes to submit online applications, all that needs to be done is to enter the information from the hand-completed paper applications into the online applications.

4. Compile application essay prompts. Have all essay prompts copied into one electronic file; this allows students to easily review prompts and to readily transition from one essay topic to the next.

Students need to make effective use of available time over the upcoming holidays. Having the above tasks put in motion in the next few days will better prepare students to meet regular application deadlines and to enjoy their holiday vacation.