A letter from you in February or early March may help, too. Discuss your academic progress, any particular activities you are enjoying (extracurricular and otherwise), changes in your schedule, or any classes or projects you would like to highlight.

Most importantly, emphasize your continuing interest in the colleges and be as specific as possible about why you are interested in a particular school. This might include highlighting which academic and extracurricular programs are most appealing to you, and why you believe the college is a good match for you. Continued interest, along with strong academic performance, are two key factors colleges are looking for from you at this stage, and it may help with the admissions decision.

Sometimes it makes sense to send an additional letter of recommendation from a senior year teacher. You should, however, only do so if it would really give an added boost to your application. You may also want to consider sending a sample of strong senior year work, such as a graded paper from English, a science report, or an art portfolio or music recording.

Add positive elements to your application that you may increase your chances of receiving a college admission letter, but don't distract the admission committees from good work you did previously by adding unnecessary elements to your file.