Five Steps Towards College

The Five Steps Towards College

1. Get Started
2. Choose the Right School
3. Build Your Application
4. Find the Money
5. Begin College the Right Way

1. Getting StartedGet Started

Freshman Year

• FALL
  • Buckle down early, since even your ninth-grade A's and D's will count in the eyes of college admissions counselors. Consider taking a study-skills and a time-management course–and then put what you've learned to use.
  • Explore clubs and activities in and outside school that will offer you the chance to develop your unique interests and abilities and your leadership skills. Consider becoming a volunteer in your community. Too often, students wait until junior or senior year and then hurriedly-and unconvincingly-pad their résumés. Colleges want to see passion and commitment.
  • Visit your guidance counselor early in the term to map out a four-year curriculum that will meet college entrance requirements and put you into the most challenging courses you can handle. If you expect to take Advanced Placement courses later, you may need to sign up for prerequisites now.
  • Look into National Collegiate Athletic Association requirements if you think you may want to participate in sports in college. And consider whether your sports experience jibes with your college plans: Do schools that interest you need players in your sport?
  • Research careers and talk to your parents about your interests and goals. Find opportunities to meet people working in fields that interest you.
    SUMMER
  • Those who are old enough to get a summer job may need to work and begin saving money for college. Others who are not old enough might take on volunteer work to gain leadership experience or enroll in an enrichment course or summer camp at a college.
  • Read for pleasure–and while you're at it, learn the unfamiliar words. Vocabulary skills come in very handy on the SAT I. 

Sophomore Year

• SEPTEMBER
  • Draw up a list of college majors that intrigue you, and review your four-year course load with the majors in mind.
  • Register for the PSAT or the practice ACT (or PLAN) if they are offered to sophomores at your school. These tests will prepare you for the SAT I and the ACT and can help you identify weaknesses in time to address them.
• OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER
  • Take the PLAN, which measures your academic development. Or take the PSAT to practice for the SAT I.
  • College fairs are a great way to "see" many schools at once. Go to www.nacac.com/exhibit/fair.cfm, the Web site of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, to find the fairs nearest you. Check www.nacac.com/exhibit/fair2.cfm to find performing and visual arts fair dates and locations. Check out www.OnlineCollegeFair.com, which hosts online college fairs, if you can't get to one in person.
• DECEMBER
  • Discuss your test results with your guidance counselor, and figure out how to make improvements where needed.
  • Explore your reasons for going to college, which may have a huge bearing on where you belong. Try to take a career assessment, such as the Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, if you're struggling to zero in on possible careers.
• APRIL AND MAY
  • Talk to your guidance counselor and your parents about the wisdom of taking summer-school classes to improve your grades, to fit in a needed course, or to investigate a subject that appeals to you. Look around, too, for other constructive ways to spend your summer. There's nothing wrong with a good long stretch on the beach, unless that's all you do.
• JUNE
  • Take the ACT or the June SAT II: Subject Tests, if appropriate. It's best to take the subject tests as soon as you complete biology or geometry, for example–even if that happens to be in ninth grade.
  • Spend some time researching colleges.

Junior Year

• SEPTEMBER
  • Get serious about your schoolwork if you haven't already; junior-year grades are extremely important in the college admissions process, as is the rigor of your coursework.
  • Attend college fairs and gather information.
  • Talk with your parents about what limitations they plan to set on where you'll attend college. Knowing now how much your parents will contribute or whether they object to a campus far from home may affect your decision about where to apply.
  • Start researching scholarships. You may find useful information in your school or public library and at www.finaid.com and www.fastaid.com.
  • If you hope to play for a college team, and perhaps qualify for an athletic scholarship, introduce yourself to coaches at colleges you are considering.
• OCTOBER
  • Take the PSAT to practice for the SAT I and to qualify for scholarships offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.
• DECEMBER
  • Review your test results with your counselor, and decide whether you'd benefit from an SAT I preparation course or from using test-prep software.
• JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
  • Check with your schools to see if they prefer–or require-the ACT, the SAT I, or neither. Most colleges will accept either test, and some counselors recommend taking both, since many students do better on one than on the other. The ACT examines knowledge learned in school; the SAT I is an aptitude test.
• MARCH
  • Identify the characteristics of a college that matter to you–size, location, cost, academic rigor, social environment, diversity, for example. View college brochures in your counselor's office, or go online to search Web sites such as www.collegeview.com or www.review.com or go to specific colleges' own sites.
  • Work up a list of schools to visit during spring break (or in the fall) with your parents or with a counselor who takes groups of students on tour. It's best to plan to be on campus while schools are in session if you can, so that you can visit classes and talk to students and professors.
• APRIL
  • Register for June SAT or ACT tests.
• MAY
  • Take Advanced Placement tests if you are eligible, and prepare to take June SAT or ACT tests if you plan to apply early.
• SUMMER
  • Send for college applications and think about essay topics. Consider whom to ask for recommendations.
  • Counselors advise entering senior year with three or four schools in mind that are apt to accept you and one or two "possibles." If you haven't already been to campus, visiting schools now or in the early fall will help you create a list. Map an itinerary, and set up admissions interviews.
  • Compile a résumé of activities, honors, leadership positions, and job experience. You'll need this information for college applications and scholarship forms.
  • Continue to read extensively and work on your writing skills.
  • Try to find a job that will give you experience in a field that interests you and that will sharpen your leadership skills as well as add to your savings account.
  • Talk honestly with your parents about how you will finance your college costs and how much they expect you to supply. Colleges typically expect freshmen to contribute about $1,500 to their own college costs.

Senior Year

• SEPTEMBER
  • Check your course list one more time. Are you missing credits required by schools you're applying to? Plan to work really hard this term, because your first-quarter or first-semester grades will be included on your transcript.
  • Ask colleges to send you their application materials.
  • Continue researching scholarships. Begin assembling documents for aid applications.
  • Give out recommendation forms and stamped envelopes addressed to the colleges' admissions offices.
  • If you plan to apply for early decision, consider what effect that choice could have on financial aid.
  • Review your final list of colleges with your counselor.
  • As you schedule visits with admissions and financial-aid advisers, think about also visiting with faculty and students in the department that interests you.
  • Register for the fall ACT and/or SAT I and SAT II.
• OCTOBER
  • Request that your transcripts be sent to colleges.
  • Mail early-action or early- decision applications.
  • Take any tests for which you are registered. Have your test results sent to schools.
• NOVEMBER
  • Take the SAT II: Language Test With Listening (for French, German, Japanese, Spanish, and English proficiency) if required by your colleges.
  • Start writing your essays. If you applied early decision, notify the college about honors you've received since you submitted your application, and ask your high school to send out your most recent transcript.
• DECEMBER
  • Mail applications, or turn them in at school.
  • If you applied early and you were accepted, withdraw your applications from other schools.
  • Start working with your parents on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Apply at www.fafsa.ed.gov, or get forms from your high school or by calling (800) 433-3243.
• JANUARY
  • File all federal financial-aid forms, and apply for state aid.
  • Ask your school to send midyear grade reports to your colleges.
  • Verify that all your application materials have been sent out.
• FEBRUARY
  • Check with schools to make sure that they have the documentation they require.
• MARCH
  • Decision letters begin arriving.
  • Don't give in to "senioritis." Your admission is contingent upon your final grades.
• APRIL
  • Evaluate your financial-aid offers. You'll have to make a decision about where to go and notify your college by May 1, then let other schools know you won't be coming.
• JUNE AND SUMMER
  • Have your high school send your final transcript to the college you will be attending.
  • Know when tuition and room and board payments are due.
  • Notify the financial-aid office if there have been any changes in your family's circumstances that might make you eligible for additional aid. Perhaps one of your parents was laid off, or there was a major illness in the family.
  • Test dates
    ACT. 2002: September 28 (in 13 states), October 26, December 14. 2003: February 8 (except in New York), April 12, June 14, September 27 (in 13 states), October 25, December 13.
    
    PRELIMINARY SAT/NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP QUALIFYING TEST. 2002: October 15, October 19. 2003: October 18, October 21.
    
    SAT I/SAT II. 2002: October 12, November 2 (and Language Tests With Listening, including English Language Proficiency Test-ELPT), December 7. 2003: January 25 (and ELPT), April 5 (SAT I only), May 3, June 7.
    
    TOEFL/TSE. Administered on computer by appointment only. These dates are for the paper-based test, both inside and outside the United States and Canada. 2002: August 24, September 14, October 19. 2003: January 18, May 10.

2. Choose the Right SchoolChoose the right school

3. Build Your ApplicationBuild Your Application

1. Find out how to avoid seven deadly application mistakes.
2. These tips will help your kids write a winning college essay.
3. Learn the right way to ask for recommendations.
4. Download the common college application.

Common Application ( PC and MAC )
Published by Common Application

PC Filename: wcommon.zip
File Size 160K

Click below to download PC version
http://www.commonapp.org
Click below to download MAC version
http://www.commonapp.org

The product referenced on this page is not provided by the Oswego District 308, and is actually downloaded from another site.

5. Do you know the top ten things colleges look for in a high-school student?
6. Learn how to prepare for the college interview.
7. Should your child apply to college early decision?
8. Find the tips, calculators, and advice you need to help finance college.

5. Begin College the Right WayBegin college the right way

1. Get settled
2. Get involved
3. Stay safe
4. Hit the books
5. Look ahead 

Ensure your success as a college freshman

1. Collect email addresses and phone numbers from all your friends at home. You'll make new friends at college, but you'll want to keep your old buddies too.

2. Play with your mind. Think of it this way: You have four years where you can learn just about anything you want. Take a class in something you've always wondered about like scuba diving or South American literature.

3. Get some exercise and some sleep. Dorm food can pack on the pounds and too much stress can make you sick.

4. Get involved. You'll adjust to college and make friends faster if you do.

5.  Ask for help. If you start to sink academically visit your college tutoring center or ask your teachers for help. Your college wants you to succeed.

6. Manage your time well. No one will make you go to class. Get up. Or complete homework assignments. Individual responsibility is the name of the game. So keep a calendar with your classes, meetings and assignments.

7. Visit the library. The library is a great place to catch quality study time, meet friends and conduct research.

8. Make an appointment with your counseling and placement office. Your counseling and placement office can help you decide on a major, investigate career and internship options as well as develop job search skill. By developing a relationship with your placement office early, you'll be well on your way to getting a job or finding a graduate school when the time comes.

9. Watch your money. College may be the first time you've ever handled money on your own. Live within your means; this way you won't have to crawl home for cash.

10. Keep your commitments. If you have a deadline, meet it. If you say you'll do something, do it. This simple rule can save you a world of hurt in college and in life.