Farasha, the "right" time to send in your entry is after you've actually begun to either seek professional performing gigs or offer classes. You don't really need to factor in your certification timing unless you're going to wait until AFTER certification to start teaching.
I'll probably start "student teaching" some time either right before or right after the new year as I study for my certification, but I wasn't sure when the proper time would be to send in my entry.
The proper time would be once you're ready to start marketing yourself publicly as a teacher or performer.