Fall Semester

• Attend College Night for Juniors in September!

• Focus on having a strong Junior year

• Take PSAT/NMSQT at school

• Attend relevant college fairs—check the AFS website for upcoming events

·        Review PSAT scores and begin to develop an appropriate testing strategy

·        Think ahead to your summer—be alert to announcements and postings about programs with January and February deadlines (Governor’s School, Operation Understanding)

Spring Semester

• Attend the spring semester college night

• Meet with your college counselor

• Start to clarify your priorities

• Begin to do some college reading and research

• Prepare for standardized tests

• Take standardized tests—for test dates, visit collegeboard.com or actstudent.org

• Use Spring Break to do some college visiting

• Stop into the Guidance office to discuss summer options

• Attend relevant college fairs

Summer

• Visit colleges—sign up for tours and information sessions and speak with students, professors, and coaches

• Begin to draft applications and essays

• Fill out forms for the Guidance Office—Release Form, Parent Comment, Senior Questionnaire, and Activity Sheet

• Check out the Senior Timeline on the AFS College Guidance Website

Senior Year 

• Meet with your guidance counselor to discuss your application strategy

• Finish essays and applications

• Complete any final college visits and standardized tests

• Meet with College Representatives at AFS

• Check your transcript with Maryann Cummiskey

• Ask (2) teachers to write recommendations for you (if required)

• Begin to fill out necessary financial aid forms

• Send applications and wait patiently!

Increasingly, the internet is proving to be the most efficient, least expensive way to obtain information about college and financial aid.   Almost all of the colleges have home pages on the World Wide Web that provide a range of data and services. Below is a list of internet sights to get you started?

Exploring Colleges

College Board  (SAT Registration & College Searches)         www.collegeboard.com

Peterson's Guide                                                               www.petersons.com

Historically Black Colleges                                                 www.blackhighereducation.com

Majors and Programs                                                        www.degreesearch.com

National Center of Educational Statistics                            www.nces.ed.gov/ipeds.cool

Application Zap                                                                 www.collegeview.com

On-line Applications

Common Application                                                          www.commonapp.org

 Links to College Home Pages

All About College                                                                www.allaboutcollege.com

Campus Tours                                                                    www.campustours.com

Financial aid

FAFSA - information and on-line application                        www.fafsa.ed.gov

CSS PROFILE                                                                     www.collegeboard.com

U.S. Dept of Education student aid programs:                     www.studentaid.ed.gov

Free scholarships search (including fastweb)                       www.college-scholarships.com

Athletic

NCAA                                                                                     www.ncaa.org

NAIA                                                                                      www.naia.org