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Welcome to March’s CATES College Checklist!

The CATES College Checklist, our admissions-focused newsletter, brings you the month’s important dates and deadlines along with testing and advising resources relevant to your student’s year in school.

Emily Dickinson characterized March as the month of expectation. Whether your seniors are anxiously waiting on Regular Decision letters, your juniors are fretfully anticipating SAT/ACT results, or your underclassmen are nervously looking ahead to spring sports contests or opening nights, optimism and positivity will help reassure them that their hard work and effort will be repaid.

Last updated: March 2026

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Freshmen

The lull in the spring calendar allows your freshman to focus on extracurricular endeavors, academic or otherwise. They may consider launching their own passion project, a vehicle for students to develop their interests into concrete achievements and community impact. Lighter schedules also give freshmen an opportunity to take a more active role in school clubs, voicing ideas for activities and positioning themselves for future leadership while upperclassmen get busier with classwork and AP exams.

Freshman Checklist

Academics

Admissions

  • March: Research summer opportunities to further develop your passions, and submit summer program applications

Sophomores

Your sophomores are finalizing their plans for summer, which might include an academic program and a work or internship opportunity. They might also be thinking about how to use their summer break to develop their passion projects or to narrow down their career interests through job shadowing. Meanwhile, their current focus continues to be on maintaining academic excellence and building a rigorous class schedule for their junior year.

Sophomore Checklist

Academics

Admissions

  • March: Research summer opportunities to further develop your passions, and submit summer program applications

Testing

  • March: Schedule an SAT vs. ACT Diagnostic to find your best fit
    • Learn more

      CATES offers students a diagnostic exam with sections mimicking both the SAT and the ACT to determine which test best suits a student’s unique strengths. Based on a thorough analysis of the qualitative factors underlying diagnostic score trends, we can determine a student’s best fit and put a test preparation schedule in place. Our tutors will prescribe new strategies and techniques to unlock peak performance and lead students to testing success.

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  • March: Create a plan for SAT/ACT preparation and testing

Juniors

Your juniors are visiting campuses for the first time as part of the exciting college exploration and discovery process. It is important for them to evaluate the “feel” of the campus—does it feel like home? Meanwhile, testing season is in full swing, and since a substantial portion of competitive universities have reinstated testing requirements, we recommend most students take either the SAT or ACT to keep their college options open.

Junior Checklist

Academics

Admissions

  • March: Decide on a schedule for school visits in the spring, summer, and fall
  • March: Identify prospects for summer internships
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      The summer before senior year offers the perfect opportunity for your students to show colleges they are serious about their intended program of study by completing an internship in the field. Because these opportunities can be competitive, your juniors should be researching local businesses or firms that might support such a role and contacting them via email.

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Testing

Seniors

With the arrival of March comes a torrent of emotion for your seniors. They will start experiencing any number of “lasts” at their current school while beginning to look ahead to a number of “firsts” when their Regular Decision notifications start arriving mid-month. The waiting period for admissions decisions can be fraught with anxiety, so encourage your students to enjoy their time with friends and family in activities that might have been put on hold during the hectic application season. March is a good time to return to an old hobby, renew the joy of playing a sport, or develop a new passion that can be continued on campus next year. The weekends are also an excellent time to continue visiting the campuses of RD schools so that your students are making well-educated choices when the ultimate decision must be made.

Senior Checklist

Academics

Admissions

  • March: Receive admissions decisions
    • Learn more

      Ivy Day is the date on which Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale simultaneously release their regular decision notifications. The date varies from year to year but is normally in the final days of March, and in 2026, it is expected to fall on March 26.

  • March: Send Letters of Continued Interest and other requested materials to waitlisted schools
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      If your student receives an invitation to join the waitlist for one of their top choices, they should weigh their decision to decline or accept very carefully. Accepting the invitation comes with a fair amount of stress as final decision dates may come as late as July, and the uncertainty can fray even the most unflappable students. If a waitlist invitation is accepted, it is important that your student communicate their continued interest in a formal email to the school known as a Letter of Continued Interest. This email will reiterate their dedication to admission and highlight the following: high academic achievement; new extracurricular or community involvement; awards, honors, or recognition; or updated test scores. This letter is your student’s opportunity to bolster their chances of being chosen for one of those final admissions spots. Students who accept a waitlist spot should also make the deposit for their second choice school by May 1.

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