2. Now it is time to start seriously thinking about college admissions! Start planning now!

3. Junior year is critical! Not only should you continue to take challenging courses, make good grades, and be involved outside the classroom, but also this is the year to attend college fairs, schedule campus tours, begin your scholarship search, take the SAT and/or ACT, and ultimately select the four to six colleges that you will apply to next year. ~~We are all here to help you~~ ~~ STEP BY STEP ~~

4. Fall Study for and take the PSAT This will determine your eligibility for National Merit Scholarships. This will also help identify areas that need strengthening before the SATs in the Spring Spend time searching for colleges in NAVIANCE Get an idea of what you are looking for in a college

5. PSAT SAT How does the PSAT compare to the SAT? PSAT -Taken Fall 10 th and 11 th grade -no essay -2 hours, 10 minutes -usually does not include Algebra IISAT -Taken Spring 11 th grade and Fall 12 th grade -essay question -3 hours, 45 minutes -Algebra II questions

6. Winter Review PSAT scores Determine your strengths and weaknesses Make plans for improvement Consider your needs and learning styleprep course, on-line course, private tutor, Plan your SAT taking schedule. Prep courses usually coincide with test dates Register on collegeboard.com Fee waivers may be available, ask your counselor if you are eligible Consider taking the ACT www.ACT.org Attend Junior Parent College and Financial Aid Night

7. The SAT or ACT?? The choice is yours. ACT The ACT may be best if You are book smart and you dont feel your SAT scores reflect your academic ability The ACT is more straight forward and curriculum focused than the SAT, so it can better reflect past academic performance You have great verbal and reading comprehension skills, you are a quick reader, there are 3 sections involving reading comprehension You feel as though you are better at common sense English rather than formal grammar

8. The SAT or ACT?? The choice is yours. SAT The SAT may be best if: You did well on the PSAT You have a large vocabulary and excellent grammar, useful in the essay and writing sections Reasoning is your strong suit, success is based more on quick thinking than memorization of facts or formulas You prefer tests that are fast paced. Even though the SAT is actually 20 minutes longer than the ACT it is broken up in a way where the pace feels faster You are better at writing essays that call for recollection of specific facts and figures

9. Use your old friend Career Planning Learning Style Inventory, Interest Inventory, Personality Inventory, Resume Building College Planning College Search, Application Process, College Major Exploration, Scholarship/Financial Aid Resources Success Planning Personalized Goals and Tasks, Journal Entries, Student Planner Goal: by now you should have at least 10 colleges in the colleges Im thinking about tab.

10. Spring Make sure your resume is up to date on NAVIANCE Consider volunteer activities, especially for the 100 hours for National Honors Society Athletes: be mindful of NCAA Clearing House Course Selection Process for Senior Year Complete the Pre-College Record with a parent and return it to your counselor ASAP

11. Pre-College Record

12. 4 Key Players in your College Decision Making and Admissions Process YOU!!!!! Parent Teacher Counselor

13. Colleges will want to see: Grades from 9 th, 10 th, and 11 th grade Rigor of courses Test scores, SAT/ACT Extra-curricular activities Recommendations (teachers and guidance counselor) Essay

14. What do you want in a college? Location – Many dream of going to school in Alaska or even in a big city. Other students may want to stay close to home or go somewhere warm. Location can make a huge difference. Size – Does a big school with more students or a small school with fewer students feel like a good fit? School type – Two-year college vs. four-year college? Public vs. private? Coed vs. single sex? Religious affiliation? Culturally diversity? These are all decisions that you should consider. Some choices could greatly alter your search list.

15. So many choices…. Activities – Study abroad? Greek life? Marching Band? Co-ops? These are just some of the opportunities available for college students (and there are dozens of others) Sports – For some athletes, playing a sport in college can be a full time job and means possible scholarship money. For others, the idea of being in a huge football stadium cheering on the team is the motivation for going to a larger school.

16. And more to think about… Major offerings – Selecting a school with a certain major may be the most important part of the search. For others who are not sure or do not have a clue, this might be one area to leave off the search list, at least for now. Selectivity – Some colleges admit less than ten percent of the applicants while others accept 100%. Knowing how difficult it is to get in will also give an idea of how challenging it will be as an enrolled student.

17. Responsible Choices Remember that choosing a college is a major decision and it is usually the first big choice you will make in your life. Some of you will handle this process easily and others will procrastinate to the bitter end. Whatever your pace, make sure to take the time to do your research and investigate all of your options!

18. Clean up your social media! PRIVATE Make sure your profile is PRIVATE and dont post inappropriate content or pictures!

19. Looking forward: Schedule Classes for Senior Year: Challenge yourself! Make sure your email and phones are updated for NAVIANCE. Check you email every day. Sign up for College visits in NAVIANCE Over this summer you should be visiting colleges and narrowing down your choices. Start your essay: once you figure out what schools you are applying to find out essay topics! What teachers will you ask for recommendations? HAVE APPLICATIONS READY BY THANKSGIVING!!!!!