Junior Year

Fall
Check with your counselor to make sure your course credits will meet college requirements of the type of school you want to go to. (Your local community college, state university, liberal arts college, and prestigous private university will all have different entrance requirements.)

Be sure you are involved in one or two extracurricular activities. Taking a leadership position in those activities is a plus.

Begin building your personal list of colleges. Click here for a list of things to consider when choosing a college.

Register for and take the PSAT. You can pick up the registration form in your guidance counselor’s office. If you do well on the PSAT it could lead to National Merit Scholarship money so get a practice book and do some studying!

Strive to get the best grades you can. A serious effort will provide you with the most options during the application process.
Winter
Get involved in a community service activity.

Begin to read newspapers and a weekly news magazine. Being informed about current events will help you both with college admissions and scholarship essays and with college interviews.

With your school counselor, decide when to take the ACT Assessment, SAT I, and SAT II Subject Tests (and which Subject Tests to take). If English is not your primary language and you are planning on attending a college in North America, decide when to take the TOEFL test.

Keep your grades up!

Check The National Association for College Admissions Counseling Website for schedules and locations of college fairs.
Spring
Register and study for the standardized tests you’ve decided to take. You can register online for both the SAT and ACT. Sign up for an online or in person course and/or buy a comprehensive study guide. Online courses are relatively new, but can give you individualized instruction at your own pace and at a lower cost. Check out our practice questions for the SAT and ACT.

Meet with your school counselor to discuss college choices. Review your transcript and test scores with your counselor to determine how competitive your range of choices should be.

Click here to help you select which colleges to apply to.

Develop a preliminary list of 15 to 20 colleges and universities and search for information on them.

Start scheduling campus visits and interviews. When school is in session (but never during final exams) is the best time. Summers are OK, but will not show you what the college is really like. If possible, save your top college choices for the fall. Be aware, however, that fall is the busiest visit season, and you will need advance planning. Don’t forget to write thank-you letters to your interviewers.

Plan a challenging schedule of classes for your senior year.

Begin to record personal and academic information that can be later transferred to your college applications.

Think about which teachers you will ask to write recommendations.

Structure your summer plans to include advanced academic work, travel, volunteer work, or a job.

Summer
Find out which of the colleges you’d like to apply to accept the Common Application . Write to any colleges on your list that do not accept the Common Application to request application forms or check out the school websites for online application options.

Begin working on your application essays.

Schedule campus visits and interviews for any college you’re interested in that you did not visit in the Spring. Fall is a great time to visit campuses, but you need to plan in advance because it is the busiest time.

Senior Year

Fall
If you are going to re-take the ACT, SAT I, SAT II, and/or TOEFL tests, or you did not take them in the spring, register now. Sign up for an in person or online course and buy a comprehensive study guide. Check out our practice questions for the SAT and ACT.

Check with your school counselor to see if any college representatives will be visiting your high school or your community this fall.

Ask appropriate teachers if they would write recommendations for you. Make sure you give them all the proper forms with your portion of the forms completed. Also, give them addressed, stamped envelopes to send in the letters. Don’t forget to write thank-you letters to all teachers that write you recommendations!

Meet with your counselor to compile your final list of colleges.

Begin filling out college applications for your final list of colleges. Many colleges have online applications that you can access right from the college website. Take your time filling out the applications. This is the main snapshot the school gets of you, so take your time to make your application as high quality as possible. Check out our tips on how to make your application stand out.

Write your college admissions essays. These can really differentiate you from the other applications. Check out our admission essay secrets!

Photocopy or print extra copies of your applications to use as a backup.

Be sure that you have requested your ACT Assessment and SAT scores be sent to your colleges of choice.

Don’t be late! Keep track of all deadlines for transcripts, recommendations, financial aid, applications etc.
Winter
Meet with your counselor to verify that all is in order and that transcripts are out to colleges.

If you are applying for financial aid, prepare the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and PROFILE. Check out our FAFSA and PROFILE tips and Financial Aid Calendar. You can also get information on the FAFSA and fill out the form online at www.fafsa.ed.gov or through your school counseling office. The sooner you apply for financial aid, the better your chances. You can start submitting the FAFSA after January 1 the year you will attend college.

If applicable, let colleges know of any new honors or accomplishments that were not in your original application.

Spring

Be sure you have received a FAFSA acknowledgment.

Receive acceptance letters. Congratulations!

Go back to visit one or two of your top-choice colleges.

Review the financial aid offers you receive. Appeal to your top colleges if you require more financial aid or if your circumstances have changed.

Notify your college of choice that you have accepted its offer (and send in a deposit by May 1).

Notify the colleges you have chosen not to attend of your decision.

Graduate! Congratulations and best of luck.

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1. Size
Colleges come in all sizes, from a school in California that enrolls only 26 students to schools like Pennsylvania State, which can enroll 30,000 or more. Which one is better? Well, that depends on you and what you’re comfortable with. Did you go to a small high school or a large one? Did you like the size of your high school? Did you grow up in a city or a rural area? Do you like being places where everybody knows you, or do you like the anonymity of a crowd?

2. Type
All colleges are not the same. Some have large graduate programs and devote much of their time and resources to research. Others enroll only undergraduates and focus their attention on teaching and learning. Some schools have a specialty in one specific area, like engineering or writing, while others are best known for giving their students a broad education. Other differences include whether schools are single sex or coed, if they have a religious affiliation, and whether they are public or private.

There are also historically black colleges, schools with co-op programs where you earn money while going to school, and schools with large evening and part-time programs. The options really are almost limitless.

3. Location
There are colleges in every living environment you can imagine, from tiny towns in Minnesota to the middle of New York City. If you have always lived in the suburbs, choosing an urban campus can be an adventure. But after a week of urban noise, dirt, and rude people, will you long for a grassy campus and open space? On the other hand, if you are used to the suburbs and mall life and choose a college in a rural area, will you run screaming into the Student Center some night looking for noise, lights, and people? Think about where you grew up and how much of a change you want from that when you go to college.

4. Distance from Home
Closely tied to location is the issue of how far from home you want to be. For some people, going to college is a chance to explore a totally different part of the country. For others, they want to make sure they can have dinner with their family once a week, or go home to do their laundry. When you decide how far you want to be from home, think about how likely you are to get homesick, and how much money you can afford to spend in travel. The farther you are from home, the less often you’ll be able to visit. On the other hand, with email and cell phones, you can still feel close to home even if you’re in California and your sister is in New Jersey.

5. Cost/Scholarships & Financial Aid
Cost is one thing that most parents think about when the topic of college comes up, but did you know that not all colleges cost the same amount? Or that there are different types of financial aid at different schools? Or that if your grades – or musical talent or athletic ability – are good enough you could earn a scholarship?

Public universities often offer much lower tuition rates to in-state students, but their fees to out-of-state residents are usually pretty similar to private schools. Private institutions charge everyone the same high tuition, but they often have privately-funded scholarship monies available, so it’s worth applying to them even if the price tag seems too high.

6. Student Population
All college students are not the same. Some schools, particularly large schools and those in big cities, tend to have students from a wide range of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds. Other schools, especially small schools and those in very rural locations, tend to have a fairly homogeneous student body. Other things to think about in student population is whether most students live at the school or commute, how old the average student is, and how many students are in the Greek system, if there is one.

7. Majors and Requirements
If you know what field you want to go into after college, it’s important to make sure you go to college somewhere that will prepare you for your chosen profession. Some schools are particularly well-known for a specific major, like pre-med or architecture. Going to one of these schools will put you in a great position to get a job in that area when you graduate. If, however, like many entering freshman, you’re not so sure what you want to do, you should choose a school that will give you plenty of options.

Some schools require students to take classes in a wide range of areas during their first year or two. These schools are great for students who either want a well-rounded education or are trying to figure out what area to focus on. Other schools let students just dive in to their chosen majors without a lot of other requirements. These schools are great for focused students who know what they want to do and don’t want to spend their time in classes that won’t help them in their major.

8. Athletics and Events
Are you a sports nut, or does the sound of a marching band and the sight of a football uniform make you cringe? At some schools, sports are the order of the day, the main social activity on most students’ calendars. Other schools may not have a football team at all, or may not pay much attention to it if they do.

Maybe you’re really into going to live concerts, or you love nothing better than to go hiking in the woods. If you like to spend your free time going to shows at clubs, you probably won’t be happy at a small school in the countryside where few musical acts stop on tour. However, if you love to be outdoors, a campus in a natural setting can give you just the kind of balance you need to feel your best.

9. Activities and Special Programs
Have you always wanted to try living in another country? Some colleges have special programs to help you do just that, for a semester or even a whole school year. You’ll usually get full credit for your work overseas, plus have the chance to learn a new language, make some new friends, and try some new food.

Or maybe you’re a dancer or a journalist. You’ll want to make sure you go to a school that not only fulfills your academic goals, but your personal ones, too. Some schools have great arts and theater programs, or excellent newspapers, giving students a chance to be involved in extra-curricular activities outside their majors. Other schools focus all their attention on great classes, but not much else.

10. Your Gut Feeling
Trust your instincts. If a place feels right, that’s important. Similarly, if it just feels wrong, no matter who wants you to go there or how good it looks on paper, it probably is. College is a very personal choice, and after considering all the other objective factors, the fact of the matter is that it comes down to you. Visit colleges you’re interested in, and see how you feel walking around their campuses. Could you imagine yourself going to school there? Once you find a few places that you like, you’ll be well on your way to finding the college that’s right for you.

Good luck, and happy hunting!

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