- Start the year off right by getting to know your teachers and their expectations.
- Meet with your guidance counselor to make sure your coursework and your grades are on track.
- Take solid elective courses (extra math, science, foreign language, social sciences, computers, etc.). Remember to challenge yourself.
- Update or create your folder or list of your accomplishments, awards, extracurricular/volunteer activities, and leadership positions. This will be helpful in filling out job, college, and scholarship applications later.
- Start to investigate college options. Talk with your counselor, look at college websites, visit college campuses, and have information mailed to you.
- Talk to friends and family to gather ideas on colleges
- Ask your high school counselor for suggestions as to colleges you should consider but might not have thought of on your own (based on major, scholarships, location, etc.)
- Get to know the admission criteria for your top schools. Know where you stand in relation to those requirements.
- Start searching for scholarship opportunities.
- Utilize skill assessment tools to find a potential career path and major.
- Take the PSAT in October (this one is to qualify for National Merit Scholarship Competition).
- Take your ACT and/or SAT during your junior year. This will give you the opportunity to take the test again in your senior year if you want to try to improve your score. This also puts you on schools’ mailing lists and gives significant information to the schools you are considering.
- Continue the activities that interest you most and to which you are most committed.
- Be a leader on your teams, in study groups, and in your activities. Colleges want to see you’ve had an impact on your teams, clubs, groups and activities you’re involved in. So be an active participant in all you do.
- Try to find a job or a volunteer opportunity in a field that will be relevant to your line of study and ultimately your career goals
- Volunteer in your community