High School Timetable for College-Bound Students
- Freshman Year
- Sophomore Year
- Junior Year
- Senior Year
- The College Board Expanding College Opportunity
- Things to Save
Freshman Year
- Enroll in the classes that are designed to prepare you for college.
- Set up at least two appointments with your high school counselor, preferably in the early fall and spring, to schedule your classes.
- Talk about careers, professions or studies that interest you.
Sophomore Year
- Enroll in the classes that are designed to prepare you for college.
- Set up at least two appointments in October and January with your high school counselor to discuss career plans.
- Read about college opportunities and talk to college representatives when they visit your region.
- Ask counselors to post College Day/College Night schedules.
- Register for and take the PSAT and the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT), usually given in October.
Junior Year
- Study the admission requirements for the colleges and universities that interest you.
- Confirm that you are taking appropriate courses to meet college entrance requirements.
- Meet with your counselor.
- Attend College Day/College Night programs.
- Attend meetings held in your region concerning financial aid or college admission.
- Set up a calendar for taking tests and completing college applications.
- Discuss your family’s financial resources and review plans for seeking financial aid.
- Think about people who might write you a recommendation; start with teachers, counselors and employers.
- Register for and take the SAT, Achievement Test or the American College Test (ACT), in the spring.
- See your high school counselor about available Summer Enrichment Programs.
Senior Year
July/August:
- Write the colleges you are considering to request application forms, catalogs and financial aid information.
- Visit selected college campuses; talk to graduates and students at the institutions.
September:
- Maintain or improve academic grades. College officials look unfavorably upon failing grades and reduced or less rigorous academic loads during the senior year.
- Check with your counselor and use the career center to determine which tests are required and the deadlines for applying.
- Set up a calendar for taking tests and completing college applications.
- Make sure to fulfill application requirements.
- Check early-decision admission deadlines.
- See your counselor when you have questions and need help.
- Talk with college representatives when they visit your school.
October/November:
- Attend College Day/Night programs.
- See your counselor when you have questions and need help.
- Talk with college representatives when they visit your school.
- Apply to colleges with different admission requirements (least selective to more selective).
- Ask your counselor to look over your application forms and discuss the next steps in applying to college.
- See your counselor about completing the Financial Aid Form (FAFSA). Colleges require that students seeking financial aid provide the FAFSA, including the part that explains any unusual financial circumstances.
- Check your school’s newspaper for testing deadlines and scholarship information.
- Mail completed forms to colleges.
- Check military academy and ROTC application and scholarship deadlines if appropriate.
December:
- Send all applications and copies of high school grades to the colleges before Christmas, unless a college indicates otherwise.
- Give your guidance counselor all required forms at least two weeks before they are due since November and December are very busy months for most high school guidance counselors.
- Take the Achievement Tests (SAT II or ACT) required by most colleges.
January:
- Mail the Financial Aid Form (FAFSA).
- Some colleges accept outstanding candidates as early as January via early-decision programs.
- Take the College Board Achievement Tests if required by the colleges (if you have not taken them previously).
February:
- Ask your counselor to send your first semester’s grades to the colleges, along with any other information not already forwarded. Some colleges provide forms for this purpose.
March:
- Re-check college catalogs and see your counselor to make sure that you have taken all of the necessary tests. If you haven’t, make sure you register to take the tests in May.
April/May/June:
- Keep a record of acceptances, rejections and financial aid awards.
- Reply promptly to colleges to notify them of your decision.
- Reply promptly when you are notified that you have been awarded a financial aid package.
- Meet the reply deadline or you may lose the admission acceptance or financial aid you have earned.
- Before you leave high school in June, see your counselor to request that a final transcript be sent to the college or university of your choice.
The College Board Expanding College Opportunity
The College Board is a national, nonprofit membership association dedicated to preparing, inspiring, and connecting students to college and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,500 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations.
Each year, the College Board serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admission, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/MSQT™, the Advanced Placement Program® (AP) and Pacesetter®. The College Board is committed to the principles of equity and excellence and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.
The College Board
Southern Regional Office
3700 Crescent Centre Parkway
Suite 700
Tucker, GA 30096
(800) 927-4302
www.collegeboard.org
ACT Centers
P.O. Box 168
Iowa City, IA 52243-0168
(319) 337-1270
www.act.org
Things to Save
- copies of guidance office newsletters
- cancelled checks or money order receipts
- admission tickets to tests and correction forms
- all test score reports
- transcripts of high school grades
- work copy of the FAFSA and all other financial aid forms
- college Scholarship Services acknowledgement form
- copies of all correspondence sent to or received from schools, including applications and acceptances