STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO PLAN AHEAD

COLLEGE PLANNING TIME LINE

GRADE 12

Ø Continue to work on your grades.  Make sure you have the courses necessary for high school graduation.

Ø Continue to take a full course load of college-prep courses.

Ø Continue to participate in extracurricular and volunteer activities.  Demonstrate initiative, creativity, commitment, and leadership.

Ø All male students must register for selective service on their eighteenth birthday to be eligible for federal and state financial aid.

Ø Talk to counselors, teachers, and parents about your final college choices.

Ø Make a calendar showing application deadlines for admission, financial aid, and scholarships.  If you apply on line via College Quests, this information will be tracked for you.

Ø   Check resource books, computer programs, and guidance office information for scholarships and grants.  Ask colleges about scholarships for which you may qualify.

Ø Give recommendation forms to the teachers you have chosen, along with stamped, self-addressed envelopes for returning them to colleges.  Be sure to fill out your name, address, and school name on the top of the form.

Ø Ask teachers who know you well and who will write positive letters about you.  Letters from a coach, activity leader, or an adult who knows you well outside of school (i.e., volunteer work contract) are also valuable.  Talk to them about your goals and ambitions.

Ø Give School Report forms to the proper school office.  Fill in your name, address, and any other required information on top.  Verify with your counselor the schools to which transcript, test scores, and letters are to be sent.  Give your counselor any necessary forms at least two weeks before they are due or whenever your counselor’s deadline is, whichever is earlier.

Ø Register for the ACT, SAT tests as necessary.  www.collegeboard.com    www.actstudent.org  

Ø Be sure you have requested (either by mail or on-line) that your test scores be sent to the colleges of your choice. Be sure to include the high school’s CEEB 381095 so test scores will be sent to the high school.

Ø Mail or send electronically any college applications for early decision admission by November 1.

Ø Visit colleges while classes are in session, if possible.

Ø ROTC scholarship applications are usually due by December 1.

Ø Print extra copies or make photocopies of everything you send.

Ø Attend whatever college-preparatory nights are held at your school or by local    organizations.

Ø Send midyear grade reports to colleges.  Continue to focus on you schoolwork!

Ø Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and, if necessary, the Financial Aid Profile (CCS).  These forms can be obtained from you guidance counselor.  You can also go http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/fafsa.jsp to download the forms and/or file electronically.  These forms may not be processed prior to January 1.

Ø Mail or send electronically remaining applications and financial aid forms before winter break.  Know the deadlines.  Each school is different.  Make sure you apply to at least one college you know you can afford and where you will be accepted.

Ø Meet with your counselor to verify that all applicable forms are in order and have been sent out to colleges.

Ø Follow up and check to make sure that colleges receive all application information, including recommendations and test scores.

Ø Notification of decision by colleges usually occurs between March 15 and April 15.

Ø Notification of financial aid awards usually occurs between April 1 and May 1.

Ø Compare financial aid packages from colleges and universities to which you have been accepted.

Ø Make you choice and notify all schools of your intent by May 1.  Send a deposit to your chosen school by May 1 as well.  Request that the Counseling Center send a final transcript to the college in June.  If possible, do not make your selection without making a campus visit.

Ø Nonrefundable deposits on freshman tuition are due.  Inform other colleges of your decision not to attend.

Ø Be sure that you have received a FAFSA acknowledgement.

Ø If you applied for a Pell Grant (on the FAFSA), you will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) statement.  Review this Pell notice and forward it to the college you plan to attend.  Make a copy for your records.

Ø Compete follow-up paperwork for the college of your choice (scheduling, orientation session, housing arrangements, and other necessary forms).