D20 school had them ask for teacher recs in spring of junior year. I think it was good to make the students go ahead and do it plus allowed the teachers who wanted to work on them over the summer to have the time. Or if certain teachers get too many requests the students are not scrambling in the fall for another rec.
Other than financial piece, I think the rest can wait as long as you are managing deadlines and know what is involved. The idea kids must start working on their essays and apps junior year seems extreme and unnecessary. I think planning to do it late summer/early fall senior year is good - before the workload gets too hard, too many fun senior events, flu season. Plus kids might still be figuring out what they want in a school. Spring of junior year is a long time before they actually start college unless they know what they want.