Summer may have officially begun, but for fall college applicants, this is just the pre-season to admissions. Now's the time to get a headstart on the process and make things easier come autumn. With three months of vacation, students can kick back, relax, and still have plenty of time to get ready for the piles of applications that await. Here are some tips on how to maximize your productivity this summer and make the fall a breeze:

• Get experience. MyCollegeCalendar.org suggests: "There are opportunities for unpaid internships, local community volunteer programs, domestic or foreign volunteer programs, community college courses, high school advanced credit courses, and other pursuits."

• Explore your college options. Such A Smart Mom says: "Be sure to factor in your GPA and any SAT or ACT test results as you narrow your choices. If you have certain schools in mind, spend time looking over their websites. The National Center for Education Statistics’ College Navigator has great information about graduation rates, freshman student retention rates, admittance rates and financial aid awards for colleges. Simply type in the name of a school near the top of the page in the section aptly labeled Name of School."
  

• Sneak in a campus tour. Steve Cohen at Zinch.com lets us in on a secret: "One real plus of summer visits is that some colleges only conduct personal interviews during the summer months. That’s because admissions officers are usually on the road in the fall visiting high schools. So check ahead and see if the colleges you’re considering will schedule an interview." 
  

• Create a resume. Michael Streich writes: "Summertime offers many undisturbed hours to gather four-year’s worth of high school accolades in order to develop a resume. Students should bear in mind that many applications will have separate forms listing extracurricular activities and volunteerism."

• Have fun. MyUSearch Blog offers the following parting advice: "Use the summer to really reflect on the things that you hold most valuable. If you could do anything, without commitments for one full week, what would it be? When you have that answer, ask yourself why you value that activity so much and think about how college will help make this activity more than just something you can do in your free time.

Not completely! Don’t give up on the last leg of the race!

After the application has been mailed or the “send” button has been hit, you can start to rejoice that you've come a long way toward your building your college future! But don’t get too comfy, you still need to make sure that college admissions officers know you are still interested!

Truth: Colleges are into accepting students that will actually enroll and attend.

According to Jackie Burrell, colleges often base their final acceptance decisions on how a student demonstrates interest in actually attending the college. You see, no one likes rejection and colleges want to extend acceptance letters to students who will likely enroll in their college. The percentage of accepted students who end up matriculating is called “yield”, and this affects everything from a school's public image to its rankings. If you were a college admissions officer trying to do decide between two applicants with similar strengths and qualifications, how would you decide?

Tips for what to do after you apply:

• Schedule a visit to the college with an admissions officer. In addition to displaying your level of interest to the admissions folks, you are also getting another opportunity to gather information before you make your final enrollment decision.
• Call or email with informed questions and proactively respond to any emails or phone calls that you receive from them. Remember, no one likes a stalker! You should think of questions that will show your interest in some unique area of the college and send a brief email. Just like in other relationships, you need to wait for the college to respond to your question before following up.  Demonstrate your interest with confidence and develop communication plans for touching base for more information about the college. Resist the temptation to ask about your application status or acceptance odds! Just show that you are serious about learning more about their college and pursuing your educational future.