Choose one to 10 colleges that you want to apply to. Make sure to have at least one safety school that you are sure you will get into. The other options should be schools that you would like to attend and have a reasonable chance admission.
Contact the colleges by mail, phone or online, and request that they send you information about the college and an application packet.
Take the required standardized tests for the colleges to which you are applying. Most colleges require SAT scores, although some require or accept the ACT instead. Take the SAT subject tests as well if they are required as part of your application to a college.
Write your college essay. You may have to write more than one essay if a school has specific questions on its application. If possible, try to write one very good college essay that you can use on all of your college applications.
Ask your counselor and favorite teachers if they can fill out recommendation forms for you. Most teachers prefer to have the recommendation form at least a month before it is due. Provide addressed and stamped envelopes with each form, and make sure the due date appears somewhere on each form as well.
Send your high school transcript to each college. Some colleges require that your high school registrar's office sends the transcript directly, whereas others will accept a sealed official transcript with the rest of your application.
Take a thank you note to your teachers and counselor who are filling out recommendation forms for you about a week before the first application deadline. When you give the notes to them, confirm that they have mailed the recommendation form. If they have not, follow up again before the deadline.
Complete all parts of the college applications, and submit them before each school's deadline. Some schools have a supplementary application as well, especially if you are using the Common Application, a single application that can be sent to any number of the schools that accepts it.
Submit financial aid forms by the priority deadline if you are applying for financial aid. The deadline varies from school to school, but ideally, you will complete the forms as soon after January 1 as possible. Financial aid forms include the FAFSA, CSS Profile and sometimes additional forms specific to each school.
Send your SAT scores through the College Board website or your ACT scores through the ACT website.
Call each college's admissions office within a couple weeks of the application deadline, and ask whether the school has received all parts of your application. If anything was missing, complete it, and return it to them as soon as possible.