While benefits of college matriculation are well-established, the portal controlling access to higher education is the institutional application. The bulk of the college application process takes place during a student's senior or 12th-grade year; however, parents and caregivers of high school students need to know that the quest for college matriculation is a very different exercise than it was decades ago: it now requires attention during all of the high school years. This text sets forth a grade-specific timeline for parents and students which will be useful in the highly competitive application process that in a contemporary context spans four years. (Contains 4 tables.)