College Planning Calendar:
Junior Year
August/September/October
November/December
January/February
March/April
May/June
July/August
Senior Year
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College Planning Calendar
This calendar will help plan for your future. Visit monthly to stay focused on important dates.
Choosing a College:
- Attend any college fairs or information sessions that are offered at your school or in your community.
- Develop a preliminary list of colleges that you may be interested in.
- Research colleges on the Web. Check out the college websites and other sites for college rankings and descriptions, etc.
Grades and Testing:
- Meet with your counselor or other student advisor to plan your class schedule for junior and senior years.
- Participate in extracurricular activities. Colleges are looking for students who are well-rounded.
**Make sure that your extracurricular activities do not interfere with your academics.
- Sign up and take the October PSAT exam.
- Research possible Advanced Placement classes or other college placement testing you can take during the second half of your junior year or your senior year. These classes and tests may give you college credits or may allow you to test out of certain freshman year classes.
Paying for It:
- Attend any financial aid fairs that are available with your parents. It will give you a head start on your financial aid search and you and your parents will be better prepared to pay for college.
Organizing:
Grades and Testing:
- Plan your spring course schedule. Make sure that you are taking challenging courses. Colleges will look at the strength of your academic course load when making admissions decisions.
- You will receive your PSAT scores if you took the test in October. Talk with your counselor on ways to improve your score. Plan to take the test again (or for the first time).
- Start planning for the SAT/ACT.
Paying for It:
- Talk to your parents about any existing resources you may have available to pay for college. This will help you get an initial overview of how much money you may have to borrow or find in financial aid.
- Start researching scholarships, grants and other similar financial aid programs. For some of these, you may have to apply during your junior year.
Choosing a College:
- Continue your research on potential colleges. Request catalogs from any schools that you may be interested in.
- Utilize any resources in your high school. Many schools offer college resource centers or career assessment resources to help students choose a college and identify their career interests.
- Complete the online college search offered on GetColleged.com to help you identify your options based on your individual preferences.
Grades and Testing:
- Contact the schools on your preliminary list. Ask them if they accept the SAT or the ACT or both exams. This will help you decide which standardized test to take. You may want to take both.
- Start preparing for standardized testing. Utilize any practice tests or prep courses that are available.
Paying for It:
- Continue attending financial aid nights, when available.
Choosing a College:
- Research admissions requirements and financial aid information for each school that you are considering. For most schools, you can find an average financial aid award amount and average out-of-pocket cost for students who are enrolled. This may help you narrow down your options.
Grades and Testing:
- Register for the SAT and/or ACT exams. Continue with practice exams. Study with a group of friends when possible.
- Maintain a strong grade point average throughout your junior (and senior) years. Admissions offices will be looking for strong academic achievement.
- Schedule yourself for any SAT II subject tests. Some subject tests are only offered on specific testing dates.
Paying for It:
- Continue searching for scholarships. Inquire at local non-profit organizations to see if they offer scholarships. Have your parents ask their employers or membership organizations if they offer scholarships to their employees' or members' children.
Choosing a College:
- Schedule college visits to the schools on your list. Inquire about interviews, tours, or overnight stays when scheduling your visits.
- Research the internet for tips on college interviews. You may want to do a mock interview with your parents or school counselor to better prepare you for the real thing.
- Continue narrowing down your list of colleges.
Grades and Testing:
Paying for It:
- Get a summer job and save for college. Every little bit helps.
Choosing a College:
- Visit as many colleges on your list as possible. You may want to plan your family vacation around your college visits.
- Continue to refine your list of potential colleges.
College Prep:
- Start preparing for the college application process. You may want to start writing essays to use with your applications.
- Volunteer or participate in activities in your community. Admissions decision makers consider these things when making a decision. Students who participate in programs like these will stand out from students with similar academic achievements who don't.
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