High school students need to begin the process of exploring colleges as early as their freshman year. The process begins by understanding your interests, talents and what type of institution will meet your needs. During your junior year of high school, student should plan to visit campuses and finalize their choices by the fall. Letters of recommendation and a resume including community service learning and leadership experiences are recommended. By the fall of your senior year, you should be well-prepared to finalize your applications and other needs. If you plan to go to a very competive school, you will need to begin as soon as possible and have a back-up plan. Understand the process for that institution: what are the expectations? You may want to make an appointment with their admissions office and discuss what criteria is used for admittance.

I agree.  It seems that you need to plan earlier then every before.  I've used EducationPlanner.org to help parents and students.  They have a good timeline of everything that should be done at each grade level here:
 
http://www.educationplanner.com/education_planner/preparing_article.asp?sponsor=2859&articleName=High_School_Timeline
 
Even more helpful is their collegeCalendar, an interactive calendar for the senior year that you and your child can use to stay on track with all the steps that need to be taken.  You can add to the calendar, adjust dates, and even get text and email alerts for approaching and missed deadlines:
 
http://www.educationplanner.com/education_planner/default.asp?sponsor=2859

I like to recommend that parents and students start planning in the 8th grade. This begins with planning their high school courses and getting together a college plan to follow. If you begin early, you won't feel rushed. I think the focused year (when you begin to visit colleges and get your final list together) is the spring semester of your junior year. If you've done all the planning and have all your ducks in a row, then it won't be so stressful when the deadlines arrive.
 
For more tips on how to prepare for college, you can stop by my website below. I'd be happy to help!