January – February of Junior Year
Do the absolute best you can in your junior classes to increase your GPA. Since the majority of college applications are due before the end of January of senior year, the grades earned in senior year classes will not be available for admissions decisions.
Choose classes that continue to challenge you for your senior year. Make sure to take sciences, maths and social sciences in your senior year (academic classes). If you can move into Honors and AP classes, you should do so.
Get yourself a “professional” email. Go to gmail or yahoo and choose some variation of your name. Use this email EXCLUSIVELY on all college related websites and use the SAME password on all of them. Look at this email at least every other day. Make sure that all your social media sites (Facebook. Twitter, MySpace, etc) reflect you in your BEST light. College admissions offices do look at them.
Continue to be involved in your extracurricular and sports activities. Prepare take positions of leadership in these activities as seniors.
Sign up for SAT and ACT exams for the spring of junior year. Make sure to sign up early so that you can choose when and where to take your test.
Test Date *Registration Deadline*
SAT only March 13 February 4
SAT & Subject Tests May 1 March 25
SAT & Subject Tests June 5 April 29
ACT April 10 March 5
ACT June 12 May 7
Prepare for these tests. USE your PSAT RESULTS to determine your strong and weak areas (concentrate on improving weak areas). Get on the email list for the SAT question of the day. Get a preparation book for these tests (and work on it 20-30 minutes a day). You cannot study for these tests (that’s what you have been doing your whole academic career) but can you can prepare by understanding the format of the tests, the type of questions asked and by practicing these questions.
Determine a list of colleges that you would like to apply to. If you have no idea, use some of the websites available that take your interests, preferences and values and help you suggest which colleges you may want to put on your list.
www.collegeboard.com www.xap.com
Use financial aid forecasting websites to approximately determine what your family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to your college expenses will be. www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov
March-April of Junior Year
Research the colleges on your list. Look up the actual college website and use that as the starting point for information on their academics and social aspects. What are their application requirements? Find out the GPA’s, test scores and class rank of that college’s current freshman class (look at their ranges NOT averages). Where do you fit in those numbers?
Prepare folders for each of these colleges (for your desk and your computer desktop).
Visit some of these colleges OFFICIALLY during spring break and summer vacation. Let the admissions office know you are visiting. Your demonstrated interest may make a difference at some point. If a visit is not possible, contact the admissions office for information. You may also take video tours at www.YOUniversitytv.com and www.unigo.com
May-June of Junior Year
Take your SAT and/or ACT tests. If colleges on your list require it, take the SAT Subject Tests. Send ALL your test scores to ALL your colleges.
Do really well in your classes and on your finals.
Summer between Junior and Senior Year
Use your time productively. Do community service if you have not completed it or would like to get more involved. Get a paying job that will give you real world experience.
Prepare a resume of all your activities, awards, experiences since your ninth grade year. Many colleges will ask for a copy of this resume or you can cut and paste it into their online applications.
Prepare a personal statement. This is a type of essay. Many colleges ask for them. What makes you unique? What motivates you? What’s your story? Do not embellish. You’d be surprised how interesting you really are.
The Common Application is available sometime in the summer, usually July 1. Please complete it as much as possible (DO NOT SUBMIT IT). Do the essay that they request.
Check the website of all the colleges you wish to apply to, download their applications (if they don’t use the Common Application or require supplemental applications) and make a chart of their deadlines. Please adhere to them, this is no time for procrastination.
Start searching for scholarships. The internet is a great resource. Be careful with any site or person that asks you for money to find you scholarships or fill out financial aid forms. This information is free!
August-September of Senior Year
As you return to school with most of the college application work completed, you can continue to work hard and also enjoy a somewhat less stress-filled senior year. Please have an adult (teacher, counselor, college advisor) review your resume, personal statement, and essays ALWAYS before you submit anything.
Decide which teachers, coaches, counselors, or club advisors will give you the recommendations with the most impact. Ask this person formally, giving them a copy of your resume and personal statement. It will help them write recommendation letters that will make a difference. Give them at least two weeks before the recommendation is due.
Continue to search and apply for scholarships. Ask your counselors for any locally awarded scholarships they might know about. Look on the web sites of the colleges you apply to for scholarships given to just their students.
October-November of Senior Year
Using Early Decision and Early Action admission strategies can be tricky. Read and understand these carefully, they may vary by university.
Beware of housing deadlines, some colleges ask you to sign up even if you don’t know if you are admitted yet so that you can reserve your spot.
Continue to study and get good grades.
December-January of Senior Year
The application for the Florida Bright Futures for the Class of 2011 should be online December 1, 2010. Take 30 minutes and fill it out no matter what your grades are and what your plans are to study in state or not. If you don’t fill it out before graduation, you will never be able to apply for it again. The school will send them the information (GPA etc) to determine your eligibility. The state will send you information by email. www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/SSFAD/bf/
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available on line January 1, 2011 for the 2011-2012 school year. They prefer that you give them the same information that the IRS will receive from you by April 15, 2011, but you can estimate (just make sure that they know that it is an estimate). It is preferable to estimate and turn it in early than to delay the FAFSA until your tax return is ready. www.fafsa.ed.gov
Continue to study and get good grades.
February-April of Senior Year
You will be receiving your notices from the college admissions offices. The latest you should hear from any of them is during the last two weeks of March. Start comparing offers to make a decision on where to enroll.
Continue to study and get good grades through to the end. Colleges have been known to rescind offers at the end of senior year for badly deteriorated grades.
May 1 of Senior Year
This is the deadline to inform colleges that accepted you whether or not you will enroll there. If you have been accepted somewhere that you will not attend, send them a gracious thank you letter stating your decision.
Be confident that you have made the right decision and you will be successful and happy wherever you choose to attend.
