For details on each step, click on the notes below.
Prepare for and take standardized tests.
• Check the schedules for the PSAT in the fall, and the
SAT Reasoning Test and SAT Subject Test,
ACT, and AP
tests in the spring.
• Discuss with your school counselor why you should take
these tests and how they could benefit you.
• Determine which tests you will take. (You can always
change your mind.)
• Sign up and prepare for the tests you've decided to
take.
Maintain good grades and other academic activities.
• Continue to take and seek out challenging courses.
• Join an academic club.
• Start or update an academic resume.
• Assume leadership roles in your activities and sports.
• Consider putting together a portfolio that highlights
your special skills and talents.
Continue your college search and visits.
• Gather information from colleges. Request brochures
and catalogs and attend college fairs.
• Visit colleges and talk with college students.
• Check into applying to colleges online.
• Talk with your parents and high school counselor about
colleges that interest you.
• During the summer between your junior and senior year,
write practice applications and essays and
decide where
and if to apply early decision, early action or regular
decision.
Fall Semester Timeline
• August:
- Start your year off right: Talk with your guidance
counselor about your options and your plans. Be
sure to
ask about test dates for the PSAT, ACT, and SAT. You'll
need to register up to six weeks
ahead of time.
- Sign up for courses with your eyes on the prize:
college and money to pay for it! A tougher course
load
may pay off with scholarships and may get you a better
chance to get admitted to the school
of your choice.
- Start investigating private and public sources for
financial aid. Take note of scholarship deadlines
and
plan accordingly.
- Sign up for activities to boost your college
applications.
• September:
- Find out about schools you are interested in
attending. Treat your school selection process like a
research paper: Make a file and gather information about
schools, financial aid, and campus life to
put in it. Go
to college fairs and open houses and learn as much as
you can from the Internet about
schools. Begin planning
college visits. Fall, winter, and spring break are good
times because you
can observe a campus when classes are
going on.
• October:
- Take the PSAT. You'll get the results by Christmas.
- Sign up for ACT or SAT prep courses.
- Do your top college picks require essays or
recommendations? Now is the time to begin planning
your
essays and choosing whom you'd like to ask for a
recommendation.
• November:
- Sign up for the ACT and SAT, if you haven't already.
• December:
- Begin the application process for service academies
(West Point, Annapolis, etc.)
- Decide if you should take AP exams in May. Investigate
the College-Level Examination Program®
or CLEP, which
grants college credit for achievement in exams covering
many different college-level
subjects.
Spring Semester Timeline
• January:
- Meet with your guidance counselor again to develop
your senior schedule.
- Organize your Individual Graduation Plan.
• February:
- Think about lining up a summer job, internship, or
co-op.
- Plan campus visits for spring break.
- Memorize your Social Security number if you haven't
already. It will be your identity on campus.
• March/April:
- Get ready for AP exams next month.
- Write a resume.
