What to do When?

SEPTEMBER

  1. Prepare for the PSAT by reviewing the prep booklet on your own.
  2. Attend college rep visits offered at school to start learning about the characteristics of colleges

OCTOBER

  1. Take the PSAT.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

  1. PSAT scores are usually sent to high schools in December.
  2. Talk to your family and friends about your college plans and determine how your friends and family might assist you.
  3. Become familiar with Family Connection (http://connection.naviance.com/marinschool)

JANUARY

  1. Plan to visit colleges during your breaks this semester.
  2. Register for tests now.  Early registration helps you get a seat at the testing location nearest you.
  3. If you haven’t already done so, plan a strategy for getting the test scores that you want.  Prepare by taking a course, taking practice tests, using software programs or, if appropriate, utilizing a tutoring service.

FEBRUARY

  1. Use the winter break to visit colleges
  2. Start to plan your summer activities wisely, considering internships, paid employment, community college classes and other ways to pursue something that interests you.  Research and apply now.

APRIL/MAY/JUNE

  1. Use the spring break to visit colleges.
  2. Graduating seniors are a great source of information.  Talk to them and ask what they wish they had done differently in the college planning process, where they are going and why they chose the college or university they selected.
  3. Do you need financial aid? Along with your parents, estimate your financial aid using one of the calculator tools at http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/.

SUMMER BEFORE SENIOR YEAR

  1. Begin to draft your essays.  This is particularly important if you are planning to apply Early Decision or Early Action.
  2. Complete the Common Application online after August 1.
  3. Decide on a set of three really good questions to ask every college.
  4. Narrow your list to no more than 10 private colleges.
  5. If unhappy with your test scores, decide whether or not you are going to take a prep class or prepare in some other way to improve your scores. Register for tests well in advance.

SEPTEMBER

  1. Finalize your list of colleges.
  2. Decide if you will retake any tests during the fall and register for tests right now.
  3. Start private and out of state applications now. Draft your essays.
  4. Meet with admission reps when they visit your school.  You want the rep to remember you so be enthusiastic and make a good impression.
  5. Go to local college presentations and fairs.
  6. Begin researching scholarships if you need them.
  7. Visit your final choice colleges if you haven’t already.
  8. If you are planning to apply as an Early Decision or Early Action candidate, make sure that you calendar application deadlines.

OCTOBER

  1. Do the necessary paperwork to make sure that your teacher recommendations and counselor recommendations get done.
  2. Consider attending an on-the-spot admission day at select CSU campuses.  At the end of the day, you may have an acceptance
  3. Attend UC Preview Days on campuses that offer them.
  4. Finish your essays.
  5. Complete CSU and UC applications after they become available on 10/1. Continue to work on applications and complete the ones you can.

NOVEMBER

  1. Have test scores sent to colleges if you have completed your testing.
  2. Complete the UC and CSU applications by 11/30. 
  3. Make copies of everything you send to colleges, including electronic applications. 
  4. Submit all private college applications by 12/1 so that the rest of the month can be more relaxed.
  5. If applying for financial aid, parents and students must obtain a PIN number for use with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

JANUARY

  1. If you haven’t done it already, visit the schools to which you have applied and interview with them.
  2. If applying for financial aid, start work on the FAFSA and CSS Profile.

FEBRUARY

  1. Submit the FAFSA. The deadline for submission can vary by college but, in general, the deadlines are in late February and early March.  Pay attention to deadlines! Submit early to avoid heavy submission traffic on the web.

MARCH

  1. If you are to attend a community college, find out how to register and take required placement exams.
  2. Visit colleges where you have been accepted if this will help you make your decision.
  3. Make certain that colleges have all the financial aid information they require.

APRIL

  1. Correct FAFSA and CSS Profile information when your parents have filed their taxes.
  2. Compare financial aid offers.  If unhappy about financial aid, call the college’s financial aid office and discuss the issue.
  3. Respond to waitlist offers: send more information if appropriate.
  4. Make your decision and send a deposit to only ONE college!
  5. Send housing forms - often they have different deadlines than enrollment deadlines.

MAY

  1. Notify the one college of your acceptance by 5/1.  Tell Susan too!

JUNE

  1. Turn in your final transcript request.

Helpful Information

Above all else, get good grades and read for pleasure.  Keep graded papers of which you are particularly proud as some colleges ask for these as a writing sample. Start thinking about the characteristics of the right college for you–consider the size of the student body, proximity to a major city, climate and distance from home.

Buy a college guide (such as The Fiske Guide or 371 Best Colleges, etc.) and read about different colleges.  Become familiar with the statistics presented in the guidebooks.

Visit colleges of interest both locally and far away.  Begin to get an idea of where you’d like to go and how different colleges can be from one another.

Get a job or volunteer in a position that gives you a chance to do something that is meaningful to you.

If your email address is inappropriate, change to a more mature, professional address.  You want to be careful what your email address might communicate about yourself.