SUMMER:
- Meet your guidance counselor
- Get involved in extracurricular activities
- Consider a college savings plan and add to an existing one if you have already have one started
- Getting involved: Continue to build your credentials- Keep track of your extracurricular awards, community service achievements, and anything else you participate in
- Create your resume
- Begin getting ready for the ACT
- Stay on track with your courses: Talk with your guidance counselor to make sure you’re enrolled in the classes you need to prepare you for college or a career
- Explore your career options in more detail: “Job shadow” someone who does what you think you’d like to do
- Volunteer in your community
- Start your college search
FALL:
- Decide if you want to take the SAT or ACT
- Take the PSAT (study for a month before. Getting a great PSAT score can lead to scholarships)
- Stay on track with your classes and grades
- Make a list of potential colleges you would like to attend
- Make sure your resume is up-to-date and continue updating it throughout the year
- Create a document of any awards and involvements to use in the future
- Evaluate education options: vocational-technical school, career college, or two-year or four-year college, military college
- Discuss careers and which majors can lead there
- Gather college information: Attend college fairs, college nights and speak to representatives from colleges that attend your high school
- Begin planning campus visits
- Mark the dates on a calendar for upcoming tests: SAT, ACT, and AP exams
- Continue involvement in extracurricular and volunteer activities and seek leadership roles
- Continue building relationships with your teachers as 11th grade teachers are the ones that you will most likely ask for letters of recommendation
- Read as much as possible: Expand your outside reading list
WINTER:
- Stay involved with extracurricular activities
- Study for the ACT/SAT
- Getting involved: Holidays and winter break are great times to volunteer
- Organize your college information
- Start narrowing down your college choices: if you haven’t already start planning some college visits
- Note merit scholarship requirements for these colleges
- Continue discussing careers and corresponding majors
- Shadow career fields
- Prepare for standardized tests: research the test requirements of the colleges you wish to attend (SAT, ACT, or SAT Subject Tests) and register for the tests
- Learn more about financial aid
- Apply for scholarships: find scholarships with little competition but can fund a free ride
- Start planning for a productive summer: Check on internship deadlines
SPRING:
- Getting involved: Some schools allow new members to join after winter break
- Prepare your class schedule for senior year: stick with a schedule that challenges you versus all easy classes/meet with your school counselor to discuss your options
- Consider ways to earn college credit via Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, CLEP, or Dual Enrollment courses
- Continue your scholarship search and apply: find scholarships with little competition BUT will fund a free ride
- Contact your letter of recommendation writers: employer, coach, activity leader, or adult who knows you well outside of school
- Check for local scholarships in the guidance office before school year ends
- Apply for a summer internship or job
- Set up appointments at your top college choices including a personal interview, tour of the campus and meet with a professor/coach
SUMMER:
- Visit Colleges: Visit the top 5 campuses on your list
- Work a summer job to gain experience, build a resume, and save money for college
- Maximize summer to build competitiveness
- Talk to others about their experience in college especially if the student is attending a college on your list
- Organize your financial aid information
- Start working on your college application essays: Have a teacher read and discuss the essays with you
- Continue to pursue scholarship opportunities and apply! Doing so over the summer means you can have materials ready to reuse for senior year!
- Letters of Recommendation: Request these letters with at least a 2-week notice
- Develop a strong personal statement for scholarships
- Retake the SAT/ACT to improve score
- Finalize personal statement based on junior year
- Write down all deadlines for FAFSA, admissions applications and scholarships (including state-based and merit-based scholarships)