Planning

Preparing for college requires organization!
Purchase file folders and keep them in a file cabinet drawer or file box.

Provide one folder for each:

each college you are researching
report cards and transcripts
standardized test scores
community service, extracurricular activities, and honors/awards
information on federal or state financial aid programs and other scholarship information
statements of college savings accounts and copies of IRS tax returns

7th Grade

Maintain high academic expectations and encourage your teen to strive to earn "A" and "B" grades in all classes, especially in English and math.
Help your teen improve his/her study and test-taking skills and encourage his/her best job on all standardized testing.
Begin to explore college campuses as you travel on family vacations or take virtual campus tours through the Internet.
Begin to attend College Information Meetings provided by the school district.
If your teen is eligible, have him/her participate in talent searches provided by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
If your teen is eligible, encourage him/her to take Algebra 1 and/or Enriched English.
Encourage your teen to participate in academic enrichment programs and special summer workshops and camps offered by many educational institutions. Scholarships are often available to low income families.

8th Grade

Maintain high academic expectations and encourage your teen to strive to earn "A" and "B" grades in all classes, especially in English and math.
Help your teen improve his/her study and test-taking skills and encourage his/her best job on all standardized testing.
Begin to explore college campuses as you travel on family vacations or take virtual campus tours through the Internet.
Begin to attend College Information Meetings provided by the school district.
If your teen is eligible, have him/her participate in talent searches provided by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth
If your teen is eligible, encourage him/her to take Algebra 1, Geometry 1, Enriched English, Spanish I, and/or French I.
Encourage your teen to participate in academic enrichment programs and special summer workshops and camps offered by many educational institutions. Scholarships are often available to low income families.
With your teen, attend the high school orientation meeting held in the spring.

9th Grade

Make sure your teen attends 9th grade orientation meetings to assist with the transition to high school.
With his/her counselor, your teen will create a four-year plan. Review this plan each semester.
Discuss career opportunities with your teen. Encourage your teen to be open-minded and explore as many career avenues as possible. Students' minds should be filled with every option. Encourage your teen to research virtually any job or job description on the Internet. Have your teen consider a career path.
Students should consider participating in ROTC as it can lead to academy appointment and ROTC scholarships.
Encourage your teen to take classes seriously and aim for the hardest courses he/she can handle while achieving the highest grade. Once in high school, a student's grades become part of his cumulative grade point average (GPA), which in turn leads to your teen's class ranking. Students should take classes that challenge them academically, while providing them the opportunity to do well. If a student takes regular English and scores a "B" and another student takes Honors English and scores a "B," the student who took Honors English will end up with a higher weighted GPA for that course. Most colleges would rather see a "B" in Honors or A.P. than an "A" in regular. Your teen should take the highest level of class for which he/she is eligible.
Attend Back-to-School Night and all other parent meetings.
Become familiar with high school graduation requirements.
Begin to review CSU and UC entrance requirements.
Be sure your teen knows what colleges are looking for.
Continue to explore college campuses as you travel on family vacations or take virtual campus tours through the Internet.
Encourage your teen to participate in extracurricular activities and community service activities in which he/she shows an interest. Colleges are not interested in a "laundry list" of activities. They want to see true involvement, commitment, and leadership.
Maintain a portfolio listing classes, grades, standardized test results, work experience, community service, and other school and outside activities.
If your teen is eligible, encourage him/her to participate in all honors organizations.
Encourage your teen to participate in academic enrichment programs and special summer workshops and camps offered by many educational institutions. Scholarships are often available to low income families.
If you haven't already begun saving for college, you should begin making regular savings at this time. The federal government expects parents to save 1/3 of the money, pay 1/3 out of income, and borrow 1/3 of the money. Also understand that the federal government believes you can raise a family of four on $28,000 per year, which is not realistic in our community.

10th Grade

Review your teen's four-year plan to make sure he/she is on the right track to college.
Encourage your teen to continue to take classes seriously and aim for the hardest courses he/she can handle while achieving the highest grade.
Attend Back-to-School Night and all other parent meetings.
Attend the district college day held each fall.
After your teen completes an interest and aptitude assessment using the CHOICES computer program, review the results with him/her.
Continue to explore college campuses as you travel on family vacations. Just being on a college campus helps to pump up interest in the college experience. Researching college information can be intimidating because there are so many choices. There are more than 7200 post-secondary institutions in the United States alone. They vary in cost, curriculums offered, size, geography, and a number of areas that make each of them unique. Now is the time to start narrowing down the list of potential schools. Make sure your teen knows the types of post-secondary education that is available.
Research colleges and universities through the Internet. Numerous sites offer valuable information and links to specific college campuses. Many allow you to search databases of up to 1,600 colleges and universities. Simply enter the information you want in a college, and a search engine will display those colleges matching your criteria and many will link you to those colleges' websites. In each college's website, you'll find the answers to virtually any question you might have about that institution. While the sophomore year is too early to start the actual application process, many sites allow you to apply online to your chosen college or university. Also, the high school career center has many resources such as college catalogs, videos, and brochures on various colleges and universities.
If your teen is eligible, he/she should participate in all honors organizations.
Your teen should sign up to take the PSAT for practice. National Merit scholarships are awarded on the results of this test in the student's junior year. A high score will place your teen among the most sought after students in the country. Plus, opportunities for scholarships will increase dramatically. Have your teen practice with PSAT software, manuals, or in a PSAT class.
If your teen has not yet taken the SAT, have him/her take it in the spring, which gives him/her the summer to re mediate problem areas.
Continue to encourage your teen to participate in academic enrichment programs and special summer workshops and camps offered by many educational institutions.
Allow your teen to begin working only if he/she is able to maintain a balance of all activities - academics, extracurricular activities, community service, social activities, eating, and sleeping. Working after school helps develop responsibility and provides students with income, but academics must come first.
It is not too early to search for scholarships. For example, the Ayn Rand Institute sponsors an essay competition for high school freshmen and sophomores. Also, the Hugh O'Brien Youth Award recognizes outstanding sophomores with a weekend retreat and leadership seminar experience. Another key reason to run scholarship searches in the sophomore year is that by doing so, you will get a really good idea of just what is expected of a scholarship applicant. Have you heard of "Scholarship Search Services?" These are services, which, for a fee, will process a student's information and provide them with college funding opportunities. While some are reputable, others are not. If the service "guarantees a student will be eligible for money,” walk away. All of the information you need can be found in a book, on the Internet, or in the school counselor's office.

11th Grade

Review your teen's four-year plan to make sure he/she is taking the college preparatory requirements necessary for CSU and UC admission. If you haven't yet met the school counselor, this is the time to get acquainted. This meeting will provide an opportunity for all of you to get your hopes and plans out in the open and help you take a realistic look at your options. Your school counselor will be able to explain the financial aid process and what you and your family can expect in terms of assistance.
If your teen has chosen a career path, he/she should register for specific classes. Once your teen is sixteen, he/she might want to consider the many Regional Occupational Program (ROP) classes available.
Students should take as many honors courses as possible while still maintaining the highest grade point average possible. Students should focus on solid courses and attempt to take honors (or advanced placement) courses when possible. Also, internship programs provide excellent opportunities for exploration of career fields and development of mentoring relationships. Frequently, internship programs lead to full-time employment upon graduation from college.
Attend Back-to-School Night and all other parent meetings.
Continue to maintain your teen's portfolio listing classes, grades, standardized test results, work experience, community service, and other school and outside activities.
Continue to explore college campuses and continue to research colleges and universities through the Internet. Juniors are entitled to leaves of absence from school to visit colleges. Check with your guidance office for the procedure for these visits. Familiarize yourself with the resources available at the school — college viewbooks and catalogs; college, scholarship, and career search software and websites; videos; maps; etc.
Watch the parent newsletter and have your teen pay special attention to the daily bulletin. Colleges send recruitment representatives to conduct information sessions for juniors and seniors and their parents. These meetings provide access to admissions counselors and information about the college. Remember that you are interviewing the college as much as the college is interviewing you. Attend the college fair in the fall and ask questions!
If your teen is eligible, he/she should participate in all honors organizations. Encourage your teen to volunteer and develop leadership roles in various clubs and committees. Students should not be one of those students, who shows up for yearbook pictures, but contributes little to on-going activities.
Your teen should register in October for the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test), a practice exam for the SAT Reasoning Test, which is required for several national scholarship programs, such as National Merit, National Achievement, and National Hispanic Scholarships. He/she can use the results to get an idea of his/her strengths and the areas needed to improve.
Have your teen plan when and how often to take college entrance exams (SAT or ACT). Taking them in the spring or summer will allow your teen to receive the results and decide if he/she needs to retake the test in the fall. Be sure to register for these exams one month in advance of the test date.
Your teen can prepare for the SAT or ACT by using books and manuals with testing tips and sample questions. These can be found in bookstores, libraries, and schools, or accessed on the Internet or on CD-ROM. He/she may want to attend workshops or classes on how to prepare for these entrance exams. Professional test preparation courses are available for a fee, but there are free preparation classes available in junior high and high school.
If your teen is interested in military programs, he/she should take the The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, which measures academic as well as vocational skills. The ASVAB is similar to other tests that are taken by high school juniors and seniors and can help identify career development areas. Have your teen ask his/her counselor when the ASVAB will be administered at school. Recruiters will come to the school to explain the various educational programs in the Military and will also schedule parent visits. Have your teen read the Parent-Student ASVAB Guide and take the sample test.
For further information about the military, call the Veteran's Administration at 800-827-1000.
Continue to encourage your teen to participate in academic enrichment programs and special summer workshops and camps offered by many educational institutions.
See the National Association for College Admission Counseling website for National College Fair schedules.
Students should start aggressively seeking scholarship information in their high school junior year. More scholarship opportunities open during the junior year. Take advantage of the scholarship search programs available on the Internet. Students should start requesting scholarship information and application forms, over the summer, from any scholarship sources they wish to pursue.

12th Grade

Your two burning questions are: "Will my teen be accepted by the school he/she really wants to attend?" and "How will I be able to afford to send him/her there?" Do not panic. Many parents face these questions each year and manage to survive.
Each fall, many magazines and newspapers devote entire editions to college entrance requirements and best college choices and/or bargains. In addition, your local bookstore has a large section dedicated to college preparation. There are some great college-search sites available on the Internet. The more you learn and the more varied your sources of information are, the more prepared you will be to help your teen make the best decision.
Review your teen's four-year plan to make sure graduation and college preparatory requirements are being satisfied. Alternatives to make up missing credits include courses at the local community college, independent study, and distance learning classes. Your teen should continue to take the highest level of class for which he/she is eligible and strive to earn the highest grades possible. Colleges want to see continued academic development throughout the four years with evidence of commitment to excellence.
Before school begins, your teen should register for the SAT and/or the ACT. He/she can prepare for the test by using books and manuals with testing tips and sample questions. These can be found in bookstores, libraries, and schools, or accessed on the Internet or on CD-ROM. There are workshops and classes on how to prepare for these entrance exams.
Attend Back-to-School Night and all other parent meetings.
Attend the district college fair in the fall as well as any college open house opportunities offered. Seniors may request leaves of absence from school to visit colleges. Check with the guidance office for the procedure for these visits. College representatives will also come to your teen's school specifically to recruit seniors. Encourage your teen to pay attention to announcements for these visits and attend any that sound interesting.
By now your teen has developed a long list of colleges; made campus visits; used computer software and the Internet; read brochures, catalogs, and viewbooks; watched videos; and solicited advice from family and friends. He/she now needs to narrow the list down to three to six schools to which to apply. One should be the dream school, two should be schools that will challenge your teen academically, and the remaining choices should be schools that he/she knows will accept him/her based on grades and scores. A rule of thumb for acceptance and financial aid is to fit into the top 10-20% accepted at a school.
Attend the senior college workshop, where the counselor will provide CSU/UC applications, review the college selection and application process, provide SAT/ACT testing information, and review college essay writing tips.
If your teen is eligible, he/she should continue to participate in all honors organizations.
Continue to maintain your teen's portfolio listing classes, grades, standardized test results, work experience, community service, and other school and outside activities. College applications require a chronological list of club memberships, sports, activities, honors, and awards. Colleges require transcripts in the fall, at midterm, and after graduation. Your teen will fill out a transcript request at school, and the registrar will mail the transcript to the college.
The application may come in several parts — one part that your teen fills out with background information; another part that the school counselor fills out, listing class rank, providing a school profile, a counselor recommendation, etc.; and another part with recommendation forms for teachers and/or community mentors.
Be sure your teen asks for letters of recommendation early and asks his/her school counselor to review the applications. Recommendations are very important to the college application. Your teen should request them from teachers, employers, and community members who really know him/her and can share insight into character, determination, and skills. Your teen should submit a resumé with the request, so the person writing the recommendation can concentrate on sharing his or her view. Your teen should ask them at least three to four weeks before the due date.
Your teen will also be asked to respond in essay form to questions suggested by the college. He/she should be sincere, speak from the heart, and check it thoroughly for grammar and spelling errors. The essay serves to show the real student who exists beyond the grades, test scores, and extracurricular participation.
Some colleges require interviews. Be sure your teen makes his/her appointment promptly.
Attend the financial aid workshop presentation, where you will learn how to complete the FAFSA form and search for scholarships. Look for scholarships awarded by schools, local companies, and community groups. Search for this information on the Internet. This information should be free!
If your teen cannot afford an application fee (or a test fee), he/she should check with his/her high school counselor or the admissions office at that school. The application fee may be waived if there is financial need.
Deadlines are deadlines - don't miss them. Be sure your teen submits applications in advance of the actual deadline. Applying before a deadline can help if there is a problem with the application. Applying at the deadline leaves no margin for error. Make copies of everything before they are mailed.
Increasing numbers of students are applying for early decision. The student makes a binding agreement to attend that college if he/she is accepted for early decision, in the hope that applying early gives him/her an edge in the decision process. Some may have a type of early admission which prevents applying to other schools. (If this is the case, you need to know what is required, and what dates are applicable).
Anyone attending college (or planning to attend college) needs to complete a FAFSA and SAR (Student Aid Report). Make sure you complete these forms as soon as possible after January 1. FAFSA forms are available from the U.S. Department of Education, or the high school guidance office. The FAFSA form is a federal government form (similar to a tax form). The Department of Education uses this form to determine a student's (or family's) need status. Regardless of a student's (or family's) ideas about their financial status, everyone should file their FAFSA. These forms are also used in federal loan programs. Not completing a FAFSA form can eliminate any chances of low-interest or no-interest loans from the federal government. Additionally, many states use the FAFSA and SAR to determine eligibility for various state-funded programs.
Your teen should consult with his/her counselor as admissions offers come in. He/she should keep in mind the counselor's busy schedule as well as any procedures required. Your teen is only one of the many students they work with.
Compare the offers and come to a final decision. Make sure your teen meets the candidate's reply date deadline (usually May 1) to notify the college of choice and writes to inform the colleges he/she did not select. He/she should write thank you notes to those who wrote letters of recommendation and share any good news with them. It makes them feel included and validates their participation in the process. They will be more willing to help the next student who needs it.
Attend the Senior Awards Ceremony to recognize individual achievements, scholarships, and academic honors.
The last year of high school is the hardest for seniors and parents. The senior year is busy, expensive, and time seems to fly by because so much is going on. It is an emotional time because many things are being done for the last time. You are excited but scared about sending your teen off to college. Reassure your teen that your love and support is unconditional.
Attend college orientations for parents. After acceptance and graduation, your teen will be invited to a student orientation at the college where he/she may fill out forms, complete first semester course selection, and perhaps be tested. Be sure he/she attends orientation; it is an important introduction to the college. Whenever possible, he/she should enroll on the first possible date. College basically runs on a first come, first served basis, and this is particularly true with "good" class times.