December is an important month in the college search and application process since decisions will be released by most schools for their early applicants, and the next "big" deadline arrives on Jan. 1 while students are away on Winter Break.

Whether students have applied in the early round or not, we strongly encourage our seniors to complete and submit all of their applications prior to Lessons & Carols on Friday, Dec. 14. This way, they can relax and enjoy their break.

Some important reminders for all seniors:

• Have you sent your test scores to all of your schools? This is your responsibility since schools need official scores, and those can only be sent from the testing agencies (ACT, College Board, TOEFL, etc.). Scores need to be ordered at least three weeks before the application deadline to ensure they arrive by that date.
• Have you submitted your FAFSA and/or CSS Profile? If not, be sure to do so as soon as possible since available funds are limited and given out "first come, first serve."
• Have you updated your Naviance account so that it reflects your final list of schools, as well as your admission plan (EA, RD, etc.)? Naviance will be locked at the end of the school day on Thursday, Dec. 13, and you will not be able to make any changes to your list after that time. We can only submit your school packet to the schools listed on Naviance, so please make sure it is accurate and includes ALL the schools to which you'll be applying.
• Have you checked the Common App schools listed on your Naviance account to make sure they are also listed on your Common App? Unless your schools are listed in both places (the Common App and Naviance), we are unable to submit documents on your behalf.
• Have you checked the status of the applications you have already submitted? This is typically done by accessing the portal the school provides once you have submitted an application. Most schools use the portal to share important information about the status of your application – including their decision – so be sure to check regularly.
• Have you checked your email for any communication sent by your schools? This should be done regularly since schools will often reach out directly via email with important information about your application. This outreach is usually related to incomplete applications resulting from missing documents (i.e. ED agreements) or test scores.
• Have you updated Naviance to reflect admissions decisions you have received? This is an incredibly important step we would like you to attend to.
• If you haven't done so recently, be sure to check your SPAM folder regularly throughout the admissions season to see if any communication from colleges has ended up there. Though it doesn't happen often, we have known students to miss out on important, time-sensitive information because the email was in their SPAM folder. 

Prior to the Thanksgiving Break, we began individual meetings with juniors, and we found this first round of introductory conversations to be both informative and engaging. Our first junior class meeting took place on Tuesday, Dec. 5 following the morning's HealthFest activities. During this all-class meeting, students had time to explore and become more familiar with Naviance, as well as begin responding to the all-important junior questionnaire. Part one of the questionnaire is due prior to the next scheduled meeting with the student's college counselor in January.

• Information about the UVA Health System's Junior Volunteer Program will be available in January.
  
• Camp Holiday Trails is already taking volunteer applications for next summer.
  
• Sentara Martha Jefferson has lots of opportunities for student volunteers throughout the school year and during the summer.