Host one sitting with your student before application season opens. The leftover is a meeting record: timed sections, a Yes / No / Not yet decision on each, owners, and the next 30 days. Plan 80 minutes, with a short buffer if you need the full 90.
This is not a year-long student timeline and not a downloadable year-by-year guide. Standing household roles stay on the parent-student responsibility map. If the process is already late, stop and use what parents should do when a student falls behind instead of running this meeting as if you are still early.
| This meeting | Not this meeting |
|---|---|
| One 60 to 90 minute sitting: constraints, list honesty, ED/EA if relevant, testing stop, leftover logistics, essay start, and next-30-day owners. | A four-year student playbook, a junior-year watch list, or a season-long calendar. |
| You leave with decisions, owners, and a copyable record. | You draft essays, email teachers, or reopen a live list fight without using the disagreement protocol. |
Timed agenda
Keep each block to the minutes listed. If a section is not relevant, mark No or Not yet and move on. Junior-year leftovers can start from the junior-year on-track checklist.
| Min | Section | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Family constraints | Constraints are stated clearly enough to proceed |
| 10 | List honesty | The working list is honest enough to proceed |
| 15 | ED/EA if relevant | The family has a recorded ED/EA position |
| 10 | Testing stop | Stop or sit is decided |
| 10 | Summer and logistics leftover | Leftover logistics have an owner |
| 10 | Essay start | Essay start has a date your student owns |
| 15 | Who owns what in the next 30 days | Next-30-day owners are assigned |
| 80 | One sitting | Leave 10 minutes of buffer if you need the full 90. |
0 of 7 decisions recorded · 0 of 4 next actions assigned
Record Yes, No, or Not yet on every section and assign at least one next-30-day action before copy turns on.
Who sat
Run the sections
For a live list fight, leave this page and use the college-list disagreement protocol. Binding aid risk stays on Early Decision and financial aid. Your student can check strategy on the Early Action strategy quiz. Testing spend and score-talk rules live on parent testing support boundaries. Leftover summer pay-or-skip lives on junior summer parent logistics. Essay comments stay on the parent college essay feedback protocol.
Family constraints
10 minSay the real limits out loud: geography, calendar, what the household can support, and any must-include or must-exclude schools.
You state limits. Your student still owns the school names.
List honesty
10 minIs the working list honest enough to start applications, or is one live fight still open?
If you are still arguing about a name, stop this section and use the disagreement protocol.
ED/EA if relevant
15 minRecord whether Early Decision or Early Action is in play. If it is not relevant, mark No and move on.
Yes means a position is recorded. No means ED/EA is off the table. Not yet means you will not lock a school tonight.
Testing stop
10 minDecide whether testing stops now or your student sits one more date. Do not reopen a full testing plan in this meeting.
You may pay and calendar. Your student owns the sitting and the score-send choice.
Summer and logistics leftover
10 minName what is still open from summer (travel, a program, a job, a document) and who will close it.
This is leftover close-out, not a new year-long calendar.
Essay start
10 minAgree whether essay work has started or when your student will start. You do not draft.
A parent-written draft is not a start. Comments stay observations and questions.
Who owns what in the next 30 days
15 minAssign up to four next actions. Do not rebuild standing household roles in this sitting.
Standing owners live on the responsibility map. This is the next month only.
Next 30 days (at least one row)
Copy the meeting record
Paste this into a shared note after the sitting. Do not turn it into a year-long plan.
Household facts, when you need the actual Family-section values, live on the Common App parent household worksheet. Visit notes, if a campus or virtual visit is still open, belong on the campus visit notes worksheet and the college visits and virtual tours plan. Role language stays on how parents can help without taking over. If you want a hosted conversation after this sitting, start at parent college application support.