College Planning Checklist
February 1st, 2010 by Jane Schneider
9th Grade
• Get to know teachers, coursework, and activities offered at your school.
• Make a preliminary plan for the courses you’ll take in high school. Include challenging AP or Honors courses.
• Meet your counselor and ask what resources your school has for learning about college.
• Explore extracurricular activities.
• Read, read, read.
Summer vacation: Find a summer job, do volunteer work, or attend a summer enrichment program.
10th Grade
• Take challenging courses, including AP or Honors classes. Keep your grades up, aim for A’s.
• Study hard and follow your four-year plan.
• Meet with your counselor to discuss what you should be doing to prepare for college application.
• Start dedicating yourself to a few extracurricular activities. Also work towards a leadership position with a club or volunteer activity.
• Consider taking the PSAT (Preliminary) or PACT in the fall. Ask your counselor about this.
• Visit college websites to look at college admission requirements, academic majors, and general information.
Summer vacation: Find a summer job, do volunteer work, or attend a summer program. If you go on a vacation, plan on visiting colleges along the way.
11th Grade
Fall/Winter
• Make an appointment with your guidance counselor to discuss yearly plan.
• Take the PSAT in October to practice. Continue taking challenging courses and keep the grades up.
• Get to know your favorite teachers. Start thinking about who you might ask to write an evaluation of you. Focus on becoming a leader in a few extracurricular activities — run for a class office, lead a team, or start your own service project.
• Get a copy of several college applications to review.
Winter/Spring
• Study hard, junior grades may be the most important.
• Make an appointment with your parents to meet with your guidance counselor about your research on colleges and discuss what steps need to come next.
• Take the SAT (usually in March or May) and the ACT (usually in April).
• Write to your U.S. Senator or Representative if you’re considering attending a U.S. military academy or participating in an ROTC program.
Summer vacation: Plan to visit colleges during family vacations. Contact the school so you can receive a campus tour.
Gain experiences with summer activities. Admission committees like to know where your priorities lie and how you spend your time; what you do shows people what you value.
Gather examples of college essays. Keep a journal of ideas, books, experiences, and thoughts that might help you hone your own essay.
12th grade
Fall/Winter
• Continue to take challenging classes, and beware of senioritis!
• Make sure you have all college applications and deadlines. Decide which schools you will apply to, keep a record of each one you submit.
• Research and apply for outside scholarships. Go online to websites like scholarships.com to find out about available scholarships.
• Arrange visits with schools, and schedule admissions interviews if required.
• Give recommendation forms to teachers, counselors, and other people for reference one month before they’re due.
• Make final preparations of your portfolio, writing samples, and resume.
Winter/Spring
• Apply for financial aid as soon after January 1st as possible.
• Confirm that the school has received your admissions application, including letters of recommendation and housing applications.