If most rising high school seniors turn around right now and look carefully, they will see the faint outline of a huge workload monster lurking behind them. The monster is the avalanche of college admission work they need to accomplish before mid-October.

Mid-October you say? How could that be? Aren't college applications due in December or January? Some are, but if the student at your house is going to apply early, deadlines are more in the October/November range.

Sadly, the college work could affect high school senior fall grades that figure into admission decisions.

The amount of work they need to do to get the best outcome is staggering. A minimum of four outstanding essays that require much thought and tons of editing is one task. The other is deciding where and what to study. The clock is ticking and the calendar is racing. Time to get busy.