College Preparation Checklist
The following is a list of things you can do throughout high school to prepare for college:
9th Grade
10th Grade
11th Grade
12th Grade
9th Grade
- Begin thinking about career possibilities. Discuss ideas with your family and friends and use the Internet to investigate your interests to determine if they could turn into a career.
- Keep your grades up. This is the first thing that colleges will be looking at to evaluate academic performance.
- Volunteer in the community. A great place to start is your family church. Join school clubs and other civic organizations. Leadership is a defining quality that will be important throughout your entire life.
- Start saving for college. Speak with your parents about setting up a savings plan designated for your college expenses.
10th Grade
- Continue thinking about career and college possibilities. Think about the type of school you might want to attend. Could it be a Two-Year college? A Four-Year college? A Technical School?
- Again, keep those grades up they are the greatest link to your college admission.
- Prepare for the SAT by taking the PSAT in the early fall. This test serves as a great practice run before taking the real thing.
- Continue to speak with your parents and peers about college. The more you talk about school, the more you are going to learn.
- Ask your school counselor if your school offers advance placement courses designed to award college credit. This is a great way to begin fulfilling some of your college academic obligations.
11th Grade
- Begin researching financial aid options, focusing your energy on scholarships and grants. These are types of financial assistance that never have to be paid back.
- Assemble all of your accomplishments and achievements into one folder so that they are easily accessible when applying for scholarships.
- Take the SAT or the ACT in the spring. Prepare as much as you can check out these websites for a great place to start getting familiar with the test questions: ACT or the SAT.
- Began drafting college and scholarship essays. This way you can get a jumpstart on the admissions/scholarship process.
- Visit as many colleges as possible. Many institutions have programs designed to allow you to see what day-to-day college life is all about. If you cannot visit, check to see if the college you are considering offers a virtual tour via the Internet.
12th Grade
- Narrow down your list of schools. Began inquiring about the application process for each school you are seriously considering.
- If you were not satisfied with your scores, retake the SAT and the ACT.
- Keep photocopies of all application material you submit to include in scholarship applications.
- Beginning on January 1, you can begin to to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It is best to do so as soon as possible after January 1. Many schools award financial aid on a first come, first serve basis. You will need your family''s financial records such as tax information, Social Security, veteran payments, current bank statements, investment information and business or farm records. The FAFSA is located at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
- You should receive a SAR (Student Aid Report) four to six weeks after submitting the FAFSA.
- Towards the end of your senior year decide which college you will be attending, send a letter to the colleges you were once considering to inform them you will not be attending.
- Begin arranging for housing by sending in the housing forms to the school you have chosen.
- In April, May or June of your senior year, have your final grade transcripts sent to your college.
