Here in Bellevue School District, we are fully involved in college application season. Most schools require applications to be mailed by January or February. Before sending them off, make sure the following has been completed, ideally before your winter break.

* Take your final standardized test. The College Board and the ACT both offer December tests (December 5 and 12, respectively). If you have registered for either of these tests, make sure you are fully prepared. Take a practice test beforehand, or sign up for a refresher Bellevue Tutoring Club session.

* Follow-up with recommendations. You should have already asked your teachers and counselors for recommendation letters. Of course, so have many of your classmates, and your Bellevue School District teachers may be feeling as frazzled as you are. Make sure you gently follow-up with those people who have promised letters, but have not yet delivered. For those who have, run, don’t walk, to send a thank-you note or deliver a Starbucks card once your applications are in.

* Finish applications. It seems obvious, but when late December arrives, and you still have an essay to write here and a list of activities to create there, the work can pile up. Complete your final tasks one by one, and use the Common Application for the schools that accept it. Remember that one or two great essays re-purposed for your different apps are better than 4-5 different half-good essays.

* Keep on top of school work. It’s easy to let your course work fall by the wayside when you are working on something as big as college applications. Add to that the distractions of the fall and winter holidays and senioritis, and your grades may begin to slip. Colleges do keep an eye on your senior year grades, so make sure you are completing your homework each night and staying on top of your assignments.