Same as @voyagermom, our kids have photos taken in June. We have the proofs and have selected ‘the shot’. Tomorrow is the last-first day, as they say. Fees are paid for.
Wow. I know I say this a lot but it is really interesting to see all the different ways in which high schools do things - and not just academically. Neither publics nor privates around here take senior portraits until senior year (and most privates have you submit whatever you want in the way of a senior photo).
For my kid, at least, there’s been so much growth and change over the summer that anything taken even in June wouldn’t be a representation of him as a senior. And he’s still got another two weeks to grow (or regress). 
Our photos are taken in June as well. My son was looking at proofs yesterday, trying to choose his yearbook pose, and noted how different he looks now versus back in June.
Nobody takes senior portraits here until senior year and you book your own photographer and turn in the one you want in the yearbook to the school. The school doesn’t do them unless you don’t turn anything in. Then they use the shot they took for the school ID in the Fall. Some people just get friends or family to take their picture and don’t hire a photographer at all.
And that reminds me, I need to find the certificate I won at a charity auction in April for senior portraits. $100 sitting fee (indoor and outdoor) and $100 photo credit for $60. Not a bad deal. Unless I lost the certificate over the summer! I imagine they’re starting to book up now.
@cshell2, that’s what S2’s school yearbook does - uses whatever the senior submits, substituting the ID photo if a kid submits nothing. But nobody uses professional photographers; they all submit pictures taken by friends (which could include a good photography student) or family.
I went to a huge public h.s. in the south, ages ago. When my kids need a laugh, my senior photo, complete with “drape,” generally does the job. 
Our school(and 4 other district schools) have one photographer company that all +/-2500 seniors go through. You make an appointment with them and there are different packages. Appointments started this summer and go through the end of the year.
Nicki20 - do your kids still get their senior pictures taken outside of that school portrait? Senior photos are big around here. And Cshell2 - ditto on the photo process for school.
If I understand correctly, my wife handles pictures, the portrait pictures are taken at the photo studio or at an outdoor location. There are 6 different packages to choose from. Some involve wardrobe changes. Senior pictures are taken just like Frosh, Soph, and Juniors. They don’t appear in the yearbook but you can still order various picture options. Those are used as an ID and portal picture.
Our large public school takes senior yearbook photos over the summer. It is a private company who has a selection of poses available ranging in price from $30 to $1000. The photos used in the yearbook are uniform head shots similar to lower grades but the seniors are dressed up and the yearbook photos are larger.
Some hire professional photographers for personal photo sessions but those aren’t used in the yearbook. I think the popularity of professional photo sessions has diminished in the past few years - probably at the same rate that cell phone photo editing capabilities has increased.
O. had her senior picture appointment over the summer and we received the proofs a couple of weeks ago. Super easy, and I guess she got lucky because the photographer took way more pictures that we understood would be in the package she chose. She didn’t have any bad pictures in the 50 or so images we were sent, though we laughed a bit at the prop pictures (she definitely hadn’t signed up for the packages with props so seeing her gamely trying to attractively “display” a huge 2020 sign in the proofs was hilarious - she is tiny and the sign was almost 1/2 of her). Grandparents and relatives have been ordering their favorites from the link the photography studio provided.
We had to pay many of the graduation fees when we registered O. for her senior year in July. Our school does online registration and you just pick all the applicable fees when registering. This year’s registration fees were almost double our usual fees due to graduation costs.
Original “final” college list of 9 schools has been whittled down to 3 schools she is definitely applying to - 1 ED, the other two EA. If she gets her ED school - she will happily be done by November 15th. So fingers crossed that we are fairly close to the finish line of college choice/decisions.
Looking at my daughter’s school portal and saw a section Tableau Reports. What might that be? I never heard of it. I clicked on it and it gave an error message It looks like it was just added on.
D20 received her acceptance to U of Iowa today. Not unexpected, but that now opens up the application to the supplemental application for the nursing program. She has already pretty much completed the 3 short-answer essays for the supplemental app, so that should be done this week, as will her app to U of Minnesota. Most of the rest of her schools require the Common App essay, so that will be next, although she has a rough outline (it was a draft, but she didn’t like it, so she is starting fresh).
@Nicki20 2,500 seniors? That’s a helluva school! I thought D20’s class was large at ~1,000.
Congratulations @bigmacbeth on the acceptance and good luck to your D on the supplemental as well.
@bigmacbeth Congrats on the acceptance. Lots of kids here are getting their act together - hoping mine gets going as well.
6991. congrats. 2500 seniors between 5 high schools. Hers is like 550 kids
Hooray, @bigmacbeth! That’s wonderful!
Congrats to everyone who already has an acceptance! That is great!
S20 is filling out his common app, and I have a question. Some schools require an official test score from college board, while others don’t. When I’m sending the official SAT, should I also send the AP scores? THanks!
@NYC2018nyc Check in with you S20’s college/guidance counselor on the AP scores. My D20’s school fills out the AP scores in their correspondence with respective colleges. I imagine if the school is asking for “official score reports” as opposed to “self reporting” you would need to send those along via the College Board. Anything other than self reporting needs to go through College Board as your son’s school does not have access to his College Board account.
@NYC2018nyc Generally AP scores can be self reported on common app. When my older kids applied to college (last 4 years) the only school that need official AP scores is the one that you commit to, and you generally don’t send them until your senior year AP test results are in.
OK, thanks! It was starting to really add up!