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High School Students
A High School Timeline
PREPARATION FOR COLLEGE: Get Ready, Get Set, Go!
Things to Do Each Year
- Meet with Your School Counselor
Each year, you should discuss the classes you plan on taking with your school counselor. Also, let them know what your goals are for college. They can help you stay on track and uncover scholarship and college opportunities along the way. - Summer Job/Internship/Volunteer Work
Take advantage of the time available each summer to find rewarding job, internship, or volunteer experiences. Start looking for these opportunities early in the spring semester because the earlier you start your search, the more likely you are to find a better opportunity. - Get to Know Teachers / School Counselors / Coaches / Advisors/Employers/Community Leaders
Don’t forget you are going to need recommendations for all those scholarship and college applications you send out. (These letters should not be from immediate family members.) The best way to get good recommendations is to build strong relationships with a few teachers, school counselors, coaches, advisors, employers, religious or community leaders.
Things to Save
- Transcripts of high school grades
- All test score reports (SAT, ACT, PLAN (pre-ACT), PSAT)
- A list of programs you’ve participated in outside of school, and your accomplishments in each
- Copies of all letters and emails sent to or received from schools, including applications and acceptances
- Copy of the FAFSA and all other financial aid forms, such as scholarship applications
NOTE: The following timeline is meant to help you start thinking about all the steps it takes to plan for college. Do not worry if you are in Tenth or Eleventh Grade and have not done all the steps listed in the earlier grades. There is still time!
Ninth Grade
- As soon as you can, meet with your counselor or advisor to begin talking about colleges and careers.
- Plan your high school schedule. Every school has ‘core’ courses that you must take to graduate from high school. You should check with your school counselor to make sure that, in addition to the core courses, you are taking classes that you will need to go on to higher education.
- Get off to a good start with your grades. The grades you earn in ninth grade will be included in your final high school GPA and class rank. College might seem a long way off now, but grades really do count toward college admission and scholarships.
- Develop good study skills.
- Explore your interests and possible careers using the Internet and talking to professionals in the field. Take advantage of Career Day opportunities in your school, community or region. Take a Career Interest Inventory.
- Research the clubs and activities available in your school and community. Participate in the ones that interest you the most. Begin building a list of activities you participate in and keep it updated.
- Talk to your parents about planning for college expenses.
- Look at the college information available in your counselor’s office at school or public libraries. Use the Internet to check out college web sites.
- If possible, take a tour of the college you are interested in attending.
- Explore summer enrichment programs.
Tenth Grade
Fall Semester
- Practice your test taking skills. Take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) for practice. Ask your guidance counselor about the American College Testing program’s PLAN (Pre-ACT) assessment program. This can be a great opportunity to get familiar with the format of the ACT Assessment, as well as practicing your test-taking skills.
- Discuss your PSAT score with your counselor.
- It is never too early to find out about colleges that interest you. Take advantage of college fairs and presentations that might be happening in your school, community or region. Use the Internet to look at other options.
- Start ordering college catalogs from institutions that you are considering attending. Become familiar with general college entrance requirements.
- Start a file and save college and scholarship brochures that you receive.
- The people who read college applications aren’t looking just for grades. Get involved in activities outside the classroom. Work toward leadership positions in the activities that you like best. Become involved in community service and other volunteer activities.
- Work on your writing skills—you’ll need them no matter what you do. Find a teacher or another adult who will advise and encourage you to write well.
- Begin working on a college application essay.
Spring Semester
- Keep your grades up so you can have the highest GPA and class rank possible.
- Take the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam.
- Ask your counselor about dual credit courses and Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
- Continue to explore interests and careers that you think you might like.
- Begin zeroing in on the type of college you would prefer (two-year or four-year, small or large, rural or urban).
- Write to colleges and ask for their academic requirements for admission.
- Keep putting money away for college. Get a summer job or participate as a volunteer in an activity that relates to your area of interest.
Eleventh Grade
Fall Semester
- Meet with your counselor to review the courses you’ve taken, and see what you still need to take to meet college entrance requirements.
- Even if your grades haven’t been that good so far, it’s never too late to improve. Colleges like to see an upward trend.
- If you didn’t do so in tenth grade, sign up for Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT). PSAT scores are used to qualify students as National Merit semifinalists and finalists, which may make them eligible to receive merit-based scholarships from private foundations or their university or college.
- Discuss your PSAT score with your counselor.
- Start thinking about what you might like to major in and which college or training program would meet your needs.
- Make a list of colleges that interest you. Request information about their entrance requirements, tuition and fees, room and board costs, student activities, course offerings and financial aid information. The Internet is a good source for finding most of this information. Take virtual tours of colleges on the Internet.
- Continue to attend college fairs and visit with representatives that might visit your school or community. You may be able to narrow your choices or add a college to your list.
- Find out if the colleges you are interested in require certain tests for admissions like the SAT or ACT Assessment.
- Set up a calendar for taking tests and completing college applications. If you can’t afford the exam fees, ask your guidance counselor about fee waivers.
- Register for the ACT Assessment. You can take it again late in your junior year or in the fall of your senior year, if necessary.
- Begin preparing for the tests you’ve decided to take.
- Have a discussion with your parents and/or counselor about the colleges in which you are interested. Gather information about financial aid, including scholarships.
- Set up a filing system with individual folders for each college’s materials.
- Get involved in school activities and take advantage of summer programs, internships and volunteer work.
Spring Semester
- In January, discuss your family’s financial resources and review plans for financial aid. The family income during this calendar year is used to determine whether you qualify for federal financial aid.
- The spring semester of your junior year and the following summer are a great time to get started on the college application process. Request applications and information from colleges you are interested in online or by writing to their admissions offices. Find out if schools on your list offer early admission and what their deadlines are. You may also want to start working on your college essays.
- Meet with your counselor to review senior-year course selection and graduation requirements.
- Take the SAT and/or ACT tests if you haven’t already.
- Discuss ACT Assessment/SAT I scores with your counselor. Register to take the ACT Assessment and/or SAT I again if you’d like to try to improve your score.
- Discuss the college essay with your guidance counselor or English teacher.
- Start narrowing your list of schools and scholarship opportunities.
- Stay involved with your extracurricular activities.
- Consider whom you will ask to write your recommendations. Think about asking 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 (e.g., volunteer work contact) are also valuable. These letters should not be from immediate family members.
- See your counselor to apply for summer programs for high school students. Apply for a summer job or internship. Be prepared to pay for college application, financial aid, and testing fees in fall.
Summer Months
- Talk to people you know that have attended the colleges in which you are interested.
- If possible, visit selected college campuses and talk to graduates and students at the institutions.
- Practice filling out college applications, and then complete the final application forms or apply online through the Web sites of the colleges in which you’re interested.
- Compose rough drafts of your college essays. Have a teacher or another adult read and discuss them with you. Proofread them, and prepare final drafts. Proofread your final essays at least three times.
- Volunteer in your community.
- Find a summer job and start saving money for college.
- Develop a financial aid application plan, including a list of the aid sources, requirements for each application, and a timetable for meeting the filing deadlines.
Twelfth Grade
Fall Semester
- Keep working on your grades. College officials look unfavorably upon failing grades and reduced or less rigorous academic loads during the senior year.
- Make sure you have taken the courses necessary to graduate in the spring. Meet with your counselor to determine if you are meeting all the admission requirements.
- Continue to participate in extracurricular and volunteer activities.
- Talk to counselors, teachers, and parents about your final college choices.
- Make a calendar showing application deadlines for admission, financial aid, and scholarships.
- Check resource books, websites, and your guidance office for information on scholarships and grants. Contact the financial aid offices of the colleges you have chosen about scholarships for which you may qualify.
- Apply for scholarships. As with college applications, give yourself plenty of time to do your best work. Scholarships and grants can be a great way to help you finance your education. Don’t put them off to the last minute.
- Remember, you are not the only one who has work to do for your applications. You need to give school counselors, teachers, coaches, and others enough time to complete recommendations and to send transcripts to your desired schools. Give recommendation forms along with stamped, self-addressed envelopes so they can be sent directly to the colleges. Be sure to fill out your name, address, and school name on the top of the form. Talk to the people writing your recommendation about your goals and ambitions.
- Give yourself sufficient time to complete your college applications. It is a good idea to factor in some time to have parents and teachers read over your essays. They can offer valuable suggestions on content as well as help you check for typos and grammatical errors.
- Give School Report forms to your high school’s guidance office. Fill in your name, address, and any other required information on top. Verify with your guidance counselor the schools to which transcripts, 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.
- Take the SAT or ACT, if you haven’t already, or would like to take it again to improve your score.
- Request (either by mail or online) that your test scores be sent to the colleges of your choice.
- If possible, visit colleges while classes are in session.
- Make photocopies of every application you mail.
- Attend college-preparatory nights that are held at your school or in your community.
- If possible, take university placement tests to determine which level of English and Math classes you should take. If you are attending UAA, find out if you can take the university’s Accuplacer Test at your school. These tests can be taken over the Internet as long as they are proctored by school staff. (Taking these classes before you arrive in the fall will enable you to sign up for classes early!) A similar COMPASS placement test is offered at UAF or UAS (Note: both UAF and UAS are considering switching to the Accuplacer test, but were still offering the COMPASS test at the time this timeline was developed.)
- Gather your tax records and your parents’ tax information, as they will be needed to complete the FAFSA in January.
Spring Semester
- 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 and some do not.
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. This form is used to determine your eligibility not only for federal aid programs but also for many state, private, and school-sponsored financial aid and scholarship programs. Applications become available January 1st for the following school year. Although the federal deadline is June 30th, it is important to check the deadlines of other programs that require the FAFSA (see next bullet for an example). They often fall well before this federal deadline. Also, be sure to list the appropriate school codes for each college you are considering attending so they will receive your FAFSA report.
- If you apply for the FAFSA before April 15th (and list at least one qualifying Alaska university) you will automatically be considered to have applied for the AlaskAdvantage Education Grant. Applicants are prioritized based on financial need.
- Mail or email any remaining applications and financial aid forms. Make sure you apply to at least one college that you know you can afford and where you know you will be accepted.
- Contact the colleges either by phone or email to make sure they have received all application information, including recommendations and test scores.
- Meet with your counselor to verify that all applicable forms are in order and have been sent out to colleges.
- Watch your mail for acceptance notifications from colleges. It generally takes about 5-7 weeks.
- Watch your mail for notification of financial aid awards.
- Make your final choice, and notify all schools of your intent by their due date. If possible, do not decide without making at least one campus visit.
- Before you leave school in May or June, request that a final transcript (which includes your graduation date) be sent to the college or university. This will be very important if you attend a small rural Alaska school where staff leave for the summer! (Note: If you sent transcripts prior to your graduation, you will still need to send a final transcript that shows your graduation date. You will need this sent even if you get a conditional admittance form from the university. The university needs proof you graduated from high school before they can officially admit you.)
- Keep a record of acceptances, rejections, and financial aid awards.
- Make sure to meet all of the ‘reply deadlines’, or you may lose the admission acceptance or financial aid you have earned.
- Be sure that you have received a FAFSA acknowledgment. If you applied for a Pell Grant (on the FAFSA), you will receive the Student Aid Report (SAR) statement. Review this Pell notice, and forward it to the college you plan to attend. Make a copy for your record.
- Complete follow-up paperwork for the college of your choice (scheduling, orientation session, housing arrangements, and other necessary forms).
Summer Months
- Obtain the summer orientation schedule for incoming freshmen from your college.
- Get residence hall assignment from your college.
- Obtain course scheduling and cost information from your college.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN THE GREATEST ADVENTURE OF YOUR LIFE. GOOD LUCK!
This page was last updated by Janice Troyer on May 02, 2007