Monthly Action Plan

Now I have the full student profile and context. Let me write the monthly action plan.

05 · Monthly Action Plan

Alex, this calendar sequences every major deliverable from now through Regular Decision deadlines. Each month's items are ordered by priority. Treat USACO contest dates and application deadlines as immovable anchors — everything else flexes around them.

Month	Priority Actions	Key Deadlines
Late Mar 2026	Prep for USACO US Open; register for June SAT	USACO US Open window ~late March
Apr 2026	Begin independent project / SLAM open-source; start non-CS activity; contact Dr. Ramanathan	UW Math Olympiad (Apr 26)
May 2026	AP exams; SAT verbal-focused prep; project development continues	AP exam window (May 4–16)
Jun 2026	SAT retake; ship v1 of project; deepen non-CS activity	June SAT date (~Jun 6)
Jul 2026	Draft Common App essay + 3 supplement drafts; research paper progress	—
Aug 2026	Common App opens (Aug 1); request recommendation letters; finalize activity list	Common App opens Aug 1
Sep 2026	Polish Stanford REA + MIT EA essays; finalize Georgia Tech supplements	Rec letter requests completed
Oct 2026	Submit Georgia Tech EA; final Stanford/MIT review passes	Georgia Tech EA (~Oct 15–Nov 1)
Nov 2026	Submit Stanford REA + MIT EA; begin USACO December prep	Nov 1: Stanford REA / MIT EA
Dec 2026	USACO December contest; draft RD supplements	USACO December contest window
Jan 2027	Submit all RD applications; update schools with USACO results if improved	Jan 1–2: RD deadlines

Detailed Monthly Breakdown

Late March 2026 (Now)

Alex, you have three immediate priorities this week:

• USACO US Open preparation: The US Open window is imminent. This is your last shot this season to advance divisions. Dedicate 2+ hours daily to timed practice on past US Open problems at your current division level. A division promotion now goes directly on your application.
• Register for the June 2026 SAT. Registration typically closes in early May — register now to lock in your preferred testing center.
• Email Dr. Ramanathan at the UW CSE lab. Propose a follow-up project or second paper where you take greater ownership — first-author or lead-contributor status. Ask directly whether a submission to ML4H, MIDL, or an AAAI undergraduate track is feasible within a summer timeline. If Dr. Ramanathan confirms a viable path, this becomes your highest-ROI research activity.

April 2026

• Launch your independent project. Choose one: open-source the SLAM navigation system from robotics with documentation and a GitHub README that frames the engineering decisions, or start a new project that demonstrates CS depth beyond what's already on your profile. Either way, this is a 3-month deliverable — you need a shipped, publicly visible artifact by the end of June. Week 1: scope it, set up the repo, write a project plan. Weeks 2–4: build the core functionality.
• Start a non-CS extracurricular commitment. This cannot look like a last-minute addition on your application. Whether it's a sport, music, community organization, or creative pursuit — begin now so you have 6+ months of sustained involvement by application time. Aim for something you genuinely care about; admissions readers at Stanford and MIT will notice if a humanities or community activity appears only in senior fall.
• Begin SAT verbal prep. Your 1520 is strong, but a push to 1550+ directly addresses the testing concern at MIT and Stanford. Since the math section is likely already near ceiling for an AIME qualifier, allocate 80% of SAT study time to Evidence-Based Reading & Writing. Use 3 timed practice sections per week alongside USACO training.
• UW Math Olympiad (April 26): Compete. A strong result here signals quantitative strength to UW (a safety/match) and adds another data point to your competition record.

May 2026

• AP exams (May 4–16): Target 5s across all six APs, especially AP CS A, Calc BC, and Physics C — these directly reinforce your STEM narrative. Allocate study time proportionally to your weakest subjects.
• SAT prep intensifies: With APs done by mid-May, shift to daily SAT practice for the final 3 weeks before the June test. If your practice scores aren't consistently reaching 1540+ by late May, seriously consider canceling the June sitting and redirecting that time to essays and your project. A 1520→1510 retake hurts more than no retake at all.
• Project: mid-point check. Your SLAM open-source or independent project should have core functionality working. If you're behind, cut scope — a smaller, polished, shipped project beats an ambitious unfinished one.
• Research check-in with Dr. Ramanathan: By now you should know whether a second paper is feasible. If yes, you should have a clear division of labor and timeline for a summer submission. If no, double down on the independent project instead.

June 2026

• SAT retake (~June 6). Execute the test. Afterward, shift all standardized testing energy to other priorities — do not plan a third sitting unless the score drops.
• Ship v1.0 of your project. Publish to GitHub with a polished README, clear documentation, and at least one demo or use case. If it's the SLAM open-source, include a video demonstration. This artifact gets linked in your application's additional information section.
• Non-CS activity: You should now have ~2 months of consistent involvement. Continue and deepen — take on a small leadership or organizational role if natural opportunities arise.

July 2026

• Essay drafting month. Write 3 different Common App personal essay drafts exploring distinct angles (see the essay strategy section for narrative framing). By month's end, select one to develop. Begin drafting Stanford and MIT supplements — these are among the most demanding supplement sets.
• Research paper progress: If pursuing a second paper with Dr. Ramanathan, the bulk of the technical work should happen this month. Target a late-summer or early-fall submission deadline.
• USACO summer training: Maintain 1 hour/day of algorithmic problem-solving to stay sharp for the December contest. Focus on weak areas identified from US Open results.

August 2026

• Common App opens August 1. Populate the activities section, input your coursework, and finalize your activity descriptions. Every word counts in the 150-character activity descriptions — draft and revise these carefully.
• Request recommendation letters. Ask your UW research mentor (Dr. Ramanathan), your AP CS A teacher, and one humanities/non-STEM teacher. Provide each recommender with a detailed brag sheet. Request early — before the fall rush.
• Code Mentors expansion: If you're planning to scale the program for senior year (see activity strategy), August is when to recruit student instructors and identify a second site so it launches with the school year.

September 2026

• Essay polish: Stanford REA and MIT EA supplements should be in final-draft form by September 30. Get feedback from 2–3 trusted readers (English teacher, counselor, mentor — not all family).
• Georgia Tech supplements: These are typically shorter and more straightforward. Draft and finalize by mid-September.
• Confirm all recommenders have submitted or have a clear timeline.
• USACO prep ramp-up: Increase training intensity to 1.5–2 hours/day in anticipation of the December contest.

October 2026

• Submit Georgia Tech EA (deadline falls between Oct 15–Nov 1 depending on cycle). Submit early in the window.
• Final review of Stanford REA and MIT EA applications. Have your school counselor review for completeness. Proofread every essay one final time.
• Update activity list with any fall developments — Code Mentors enrollment numbers, project metrics, competition results.

November 2026

• November 1: Submit Stanford REA and MIT EA. Do not submit on deadline day — aim for October 28–30 to avoid technical issues.
• Immediately pivot to USACO December contest prep. With early applications submitted, this becomes your sole competitive priority. A division promotion between submission and decision can be reported as an update.
• Begin drafting Regular Decision supplements for any additional schools on your list.

December 2026

• USACO December contest. Execute. If you advance a division, send a brief update to Stanford and MIT admissions offices noting the result.
• EA/REA decisions arrive mid-December. Adjust your RD strategy based on outcomes — if deferred, write a strong Letter of Continued Interest; if admitted, celebrate and evaluate whether to withdraw other applications.
• Finalize all RD supplements.

January 2027

• January 1–2: Submit all Regular Decision applications.
• Send USACO December results as updates to any schools where you've applied RD, if results are strong.
• USACO January contest: Continue competing — results can be sent as mid-year updates to schools.

Coordination Notes

Alex, three things to watch across this entire timeline:

• The SAT and USACO prep will compete for your time in April–May. Keep SAT verbal prep to 30–40 min/day during this window and reserve longer blocks for USACO algorithmic training. After the June SAT, USACO gets your full competitive-prep attention.
• The independent project has a hard stop at June 30. If it's not shipped by then, essay season will consume all available time. Scope accordingly — a working demo with clean documentation beats a half-built ambitious system.
• Your non-CS activity must be genuinely sustained, not performative. The reason to start in April rather than September is that 6 months of involvement reads as authentic; 2 months reads as strategic padding. Pick something you'll actually enjoy doing every week through January.