Senior Year Checklist for Parents & Students: FAFSA Checklist, College Application Tracker & Scholarship Tracker (PDF + Excel)

🎓 SENIOR YEAR & FAFSA CHECKLIST

Senior year has a lot of deadlines: applications, essays, letters of recommendation, the FAFSA, state aid, scholarships, deposits and graduation. This pack puts all of them in one place, month by month, so nothing slips. Written for students and parents, with two extra pages for high school counselors and senior advisors.

✅ WHAT'S INCLUDED (14-page PDF + Excel + single pages)

1️⃣ Senior Year Timeline, Part 1: August to December checklist

2️⃣ Senior Year Timeline, Part 2: January to May checklist

3️⃣ FAFSA Checklist: StudentAid.gov accounts for the student and each contributor, which tax year to use, documents to gather, submit steps, and a spot for your confirmation # and SAI

4️⃣ Financial Aid Deadlines: FAFSA, state aid, CSS Profile and college aid dates, what to do after you submit, and federal loan basics

5️⃣ College Application Tracker (landscape): plan, deadline, fee, essays, transcript, scores, recs, aid forms, decision

6️⃣ College Application Checklist: one page per college, with requirements, supplemental essays and aid forms

7️⃣ Recommendation Letter Tracker: who you asked, due dates, thank-yous, and tips for asking

8️⃣ Scholarship Tracker (landscape) with a total-won row

9️⃣ Campus Visit Notes: 1–5 ratings, questions to ask, pros and cons

🔟 Financial Aid Award Comparison (landscape): cost of attendance, gift aid, net price, loans and what your family still pays, for 4 colleges

1️⃣1️⃣ Senior To-Do List: graduation, after you commit, money and memories

1️⃣2️⃣ Counselor page: Senior Meeting Notes (one per student)

1️⃣3️⃣ Counselor page: Senior Caseload FAFSA & College Tracker (landscape)

➕ Welcome page with printing tips and terms of use

📊 EXCEL TRACKER (.xlsx)

• Applications: 40 colleges with plan and status dropdowns, Days Left countdown, and a Ready % bar. Rows turn orange when a deadline is within 7 days and red when it has passed.

• Scholarships: 60 rows. Mark one Won and the amount is added to your total.

• Aid Comparison: 5 colleges. Net price, total loans, what your family still pays and a 4-year estimate are calculated for you, and the lowest net price is highlighted.

• Aid Deadlines: FAFSA, state, CSS Profile and college aid dates with countdowns

• Dashboard: next deadline, apps due soon, past-due items, decisions, scholarship dollars won and pending, and the lowest net price college

Works in Excel and LibreOffice (Google Sheets supported).

📐 DETAILS: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) · print at 100% · combined PDF + ZIP of single pages · PDF is fill-in by hand or in a PDF app

ℹ️ Deadlines change every year and vary by state and college. Always confirm dates at StudentAid.gov, with your state aid agency and on each college's website. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. FAFSA® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Education. This is a planning tool, not financial advice.

🤝 Pairs with our Counselor Referral & Check-In Kit and Small-Group Counseling Planner.

📜 TERMS: Single-family or single-counselor use. Print unlimited copies for your family, or for the students and families you serve. Please don't share or upload the digital files.