9th grade: Take this year to adjust to high school. Challenge yourself with a few tougher classes. Explore your school’s activities and get involved. Study lots and make time for fun too.
10th grade: In your sophomore year in high school, start thinking about your possible college major. What do you enjoy doing? Are there activities are you passionate about? What classes do you excel in and that seem interesting? You may have a possible college major. And if you are not sure what to major in, that’s okay too. You have time to figure this out.
And in 10th grade, start looking at colleges. What colleges have the academics you are interested in? Do you want to go to college closer to home or further away? Do you want to go to college in a city, the suburbs or in a rural area? Do you prefer a large school or smaller one? Do some research online for colleges you might be interested in and sign up for more information through the school’s online system. If you decide to apply to the college or university, the Admissions Office will see that you expressed interest early in high school, and it may help with getting accepted later on.
11th grade: Enroll in a SAT prep class by the end of August/beginning of September, so it concludes just prior to the PSAT in mid-October. Scholarships could be associated with the PSAT so you need to take this test. Sign up to take the SAT exam in November. The prep class will still be fresh and the practice with the PSAT will help a lot. Your chances of doing well on the SAT are best with this approach and it is not too early to take the SAT. Take the SAT again in the Spring of your junior year.
Visit colleges on your spring break, or whenever you can. Attend college fairs. Trust your gut feelings about the colleges you are exploring. All colleges have good academics but do they have what you need and what you want for classes. Consider the size of the classes, the research opportunities, internship opportunities, and job placement rates. But college is more than just academics, it is about the people too. Look around at the students when you visit the campus. Are the students sitting together in the dining halls, libraries, around campus? These observations illustrate connectivity among the students and a sense of community. Do you feel comfortable with the community you observe on the campus? Is it diverse enough? Does the campus offer the type of social activities you are interested in? Ask questions while you are taking your campus tours to get a better sense of what college life is like there. You will be able to narrow your list of colleges to apply to by asking questions and visiting the schools if you can.
Summer between 11th and 12th grade: The summer is not just for fun, it is the start of the college application process. Narrow your list of colleges to apply to. Select a guaranteed get-in school that you like. Select a reach school, a college that will be a challenge-but not totally impossible-to get into. And then select about 4 other schools that are in-between. These colleges should have students’ academic statistics in your range, with similar SAT scores and GPAs.
When deciding on where to apply, you will need to consider finances. If you are needing financial aid, look at the maximum merit-based scholarships awarded and not just the tuition and room and board costs. This will give you an idea of the maximum financial aid the school will give you, whether it is need-based or merit-based or a combination of both, and how much you are likely to need to pay to the school after the aid/scholarships are awarded. If a school does not offer enough financial support, do not apply there unless you have an outside scholarship that will assist with the college finances.
Now that you have your list of colleges and universities to apply to, you need to apply. It starts with writing the college application essay for the Common App. The essay topics are posted each spring for the upcoming application season even though the Common App does not go live until August. You will need to write this essay during the summer months before your senior year of high school begins. Have the essay reviewed by others from your school, your parents, family friends, anyone that may be able to give you feedback and suggestions on how to make it a stronger essay. Try to show your personality and interests in your essay, illustrating your unique self in your essay response. And in August, when the Common App goes, ready to receive college applications, APPLY! If some of your schools are not on the Common App system, no worries, they have the same or similar essay prompts. Apply to the 6 or so colleges in August, before your 12th grade year begins. When completing the college applications through the Common App or any other system, there will be several smaller essays or questions you will need to respond to in addition to the big essay written over the summer. Keep a word document or Google doc of the smaller essays so they can be used or modified for the other college applications since most schools will ask similar questions. When applying to colleges, do not apply Early Decision since this is binding and requires you to attend, even if you cannot afford the school after the scholarships/financial aids awards are announced. Apply for Early Action if possible since this provides an acceptance decision earlier but is not binding.
12th grade: The applications are in and now you need to get the transcripts and recommendation letters sent to the colleges. Work with your high school to get these documents sent in by November 1st. Also, get the AP and IB scores sent to the schools you applied to. And send the schools the college transcripts for any college classes taken while in high school. And on October 31st, when your friends are stressed trying to finish everything up for the November 1st deadline, you can relax, enjoy Halloween if you desire.
The FAFSA is the federal financial aid form that all colleges require for financial assistance. Everyone, regardless of the family income, should apply for financial aid through FAFSA. In addition, some colleges require an additional financial aid for to be completed. Visit each school’s website to learn about the forms needed for financial aid. Many colleges do not award merit-based scholarships unless the FAFSA is completed, so get a parent and their prior year’stax returns and go online and fill out the FAFSA form and be sure to have the results sent to the schools you applied to. The FAFSA form opens in October so be sure you apply for aid by completing the FAFSA by the end of October. The biggest source of scholarships come from the colleges and universities themselves so it is important to follow all of processes the colleges describe.
Next are the scholarship applications. Your guidance counseling office may have a list of outside scholarships to apply for. Also look for scholarships associated with your desired major, your ancestry, ethnicity, gender, disability, medical diagnosis, specific family situation-such as loss of a parent, or parent who was in the military, or anything that makes you unique. An internet search can help find these scholarships. Keep a copy of the essays you write for these scholarships as many are often the same or similar essay topics. Most outside scholarship applications go live online around January but some are earlier and some are later. And caution with the scholarships that seem more like a contest, because it is more likely to be a contest and not a real scholarship so don’t waste your time on them.
College acceptances, and rejections, will come December through April, and a decision will need to be made by May 1st. Financial aid decisions will also arrive during this timeframe. If the financial aid decision does not match the FAFSA estimated family contribution (EFC), contact the financial aid office and see if the decision can be reconsidered. Beware, unsubsidized loans can be dangerous since interest rates start from day one. If possible, avoid or decline unsubsidized loans if offered.
Now a decision needs to be made. Of the college acceptances, consider the affordability. If loans are needed, make sure you can afford to make the loan payments after graduation. A great college may not be worth $100,000 of debt. Other great colleges may be more affordable and more financially comfortable. Also consider the comfort level or gut feeling you have on the college campus. Do students socialize with each other? Are there on-campus activities of interest to you? Are you comfortable on campus? Attend the accepted students’ gatherings. Maybe attend a shadow day, and see what life on campus is really like. Once a decision is made, buy the college t-shirt, sweatshirt, and other college swag. You made a great decision!