Use this page when junior year is underway and you want a calm read on parent-watched items, not a student to-do list. In 5 to 15 minutes you mark each item On track, In motion, Missing, or Not yet, then copy the open list.
This is not the month-by-month student plan in the junior-year college planning checklist. It is not the already-behind crisis post on what parents should do when a student falls behind. It is also not the early-senior parent prep checkpoint: leave ED lock, Common App account launch, and FAFSA gather for that later sheet.
| This checklist | Not this checklist |
|---|---|
| Parent-watched status: testing window, stated constraints, recommender ask watch, summer feasibility, essay-start timing, counselor plan, family calendar. | A dated student task list, an ED lock, a Common App account launch, or a FAFSA document gather. |
| You leave with seven statuses and a short open-item copy-out. | You take over the list, the teacher ask, or the essays. Standing owners live on the responsibility map. |
0 of 7 items marked
Mark every item before copy turns on. Not yet is a valid mark when the window has not opened.
Mark the parent-watched items
Choose one status for each item. Use Missing when it should already exist. Use Not yet when the window has not opened. Sit dates live on the junior testing date sheet. Summer pay-or-skip lives on the junior summer funding and logistics sheet. Your student chooses recommenders on choosing recommenders.
Testing window known
You know whether your student has a first official sit window this year. You do not pick the dates here.
Sit dates stay on the junior testing date sheet.
Honest list constraints stated
You have said the family's real limits (distance, cost band, must-stay-in-state) in words your student can use.
Your student still owns the working list.
Recommender ask status
You know whether teachers are identified and a week to ask exists. You will not email the teachers.
Your student owns the ask.
Junior summer feasibility
You have checked whether one summer plan is actually fundable and logistically possible.
The activity choice stays with your student.
Essay-start timing
You and your student have a window for first essay work (late junior spring or early summer).
Your student writes the draft. You do not.
Counselor contact plan
You know who will request the junior counselor meeting and what family facts you will bring.
Your student keeps the counselor relationship.
Family calendar
Test dates, counselor meetings, and travel sit on a calendar the household can see.
Your student still owns schoolwork and the application file.
Copy the status list
Paste this into a shared note. If an item is Missing, the next step is a parent-watched reminder, not taking the work.
If you want a hosted conversation after this list, use the parent pre-application family meeting. Role language (what you do not take over) stays on how parents can help without taking over. Testing spend and score-talk rules are a separate sheet: parent testing support boundaries.