______ Apply for a Social Security Number if you do not already have one.

______ Think about the people you know and the jobs they do. Do their jobs sound interesting to you? Ask your parents and other adults what their jobs are like, what skills and training are needed, what they like and dislike about their careers.

______ Talk to your older brothers or sisters or your friends' older brothers or sisters who are attending college, vocational or technical school, or other type of college; consider how you would feel about attending that type of school. If you do not know anyone who is in a school beyond high school, ask a teacher or counselor to help you contact students to talk to about college.

______ Find out what courses you should take in high school that will help you to attend certain colleges or enter certain career fields.

______ Check in your school's counseling office for materials on aptitude tests or skills assessment.

______ Investigate career information in areas that interest you and match your abilities.

______ Think about the courses you should be taking throughout high school to prepare for those careers.

______ Discuss career interests and college possibilities with your parents.

______ Meet and talk with your school counselor about yourself and your future. Take your parents with you.

______ Ask your parents how much they can help pay for your future education. Work together to establish a savings plan that you can participate in. Learn about financial aid.

______ Find out about summer jobs and try to gain the skills you will need to get one. Look into volunteer activities that will expand your experience and skills.

______ Begin to look at college catalogs and other college information, including financial aid materials.

______ Take the PSAT in October to practice taking college admissions tests.

______ Take the PACT for career inventory information.

______ Make sure your high school course selections are appropriate for your college/career interests.

______ Continue to talk with your parents about their ability to help you financially.

______ Continue to discuss your interests and concerns with your counselor.

______ Apply for a summer job or volunteer opportunity; check with your counselor for possibilities.

______ Make sure your high school course selections are appropriate for your college/career interests and that you are meeting high school graduation and college admissions requirements.

______ Consider enrolling in high school classes that offer cooperative education and/or career training opportunities.

______ Take the PSAT to practice college admissions tests and to establish your eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship competition, the National Achievement Scholarship Program for Outstanding Negro Students, and/or the National Hispanic Scholar Awards Program.

______ Confer with your guidance counselor about your PSAT scores and their implications for your college/career interests.

______ Continue to talk with your parents about your future plans; become more specific about how you and your parents can finance those plans.

______ Start to develop a list of possible colleges to attend; your counseling office and/or school library may have books and computer materials to help you.

______ Check in the counseling office for catalogs and other admissions materials of schools that interest you. Send for your own admissions literature from the ones that are at the top of your list.

______ Attend any college and/or career fairs in your school, community, or region.

______ Attend sessions with college representatives who visit your high school.

______ Think about college majors or vocational areas that correspond with your abilities and interests.

______ Begin researching private sources of financial aid.

______ If you intend to seek appointment to one of the military academies or an ROTC scholarship, begin the application process.

______ Take the SAT or the ACT; check with your counselor about the appropriate one.

______ Begin to narrow your list of choices for a postsecondary school.

______ If the schools you are considering require achievement tests, take them in May or June, while the course material is still fresh in your mind.

______ Schedule visits to the schools that are high on your list. Try to visit when the school is in session so you can talk to students and professors as well as admissions people. If you expect to seek financial assistance, make an appointment to speak to someone in the financial aid office.

______ Check with your counselor, the school library, and the public library for names and addresses of possible scholarship sources; be aware of the kinds of scholarships that seniors in your high school and community are receiving.

______ Develop a resume.

______ If portfolios, audition tapes, writing samples, or other evidence of talent are required for admission or for scholarships, begin to put these items together.

______ Apply for a summer job.

______ Make a plan for saving a portion of your summer earnings.

______ Request application materials for admissions and financial aid from schools to which you intend to apply.

______ If you are seeking an athletic scholarship, make contact in person or by mail with the coaches at schools of your interest; include a resume of your accomplishments.

______ Write letters requesting applications from any private scholarship sources you have identified.

______ Visit the schools that interest you the most, if you cannot do so during the regular school year.

______ Make sure your high school course selections are appropriate for your college/career interests and that you are meeting high school graduation and college admissions requirements.

______ Talk to your counselor about your current plans for college; evaluate those plans in light of your SAT/ACT scores and high school grades.

______ Discuss possibilities for financial aid in a conference with your counselor and your parents.

______ Request application materials for admissions and financial aid from schools to which you intend to apply, if you have not already done so.

______ If you are requesting college admission on an Early Action or Early Decision basis, be sure that your application materials are submitted by the deadline.

______ Attend college and career fairs and meet with college representatives who visit your high school.

______ Visit the schools you are considering to observe the school in session and to confirm your top choices. Make arrangements in advance for a personal interview with an admissions counselor, a financial aid administrator, and a professor in the academic department representing your intended major. Stay overnight, if possible.

______ Take or re-take the SAT or the ACT, if you intend to do so; check with your counselor before deciding whether or not to re-take an admissions test.

______ Be aware of admission and financial aid application deadlines and meet them. Don't procrastinate. Keep accurate record of all applications and supporting materials you submit.

______ Be aware of application deadlines for any private scholarships you intend to seek and meet them. Keep records of your applications and letters.

______ Devote time, energy, and thought to writing and re-writing any required essays.

______ Give recommendation forms to teachers, counselors, and other persons from whom you are seeking a reference at least a month before they are due to be returned; include a stamped, addressed envelope. Follow-up with your references to make sure they have remembered to send them.

______ If you are seeking appointment to one of the military academies, make sure your file is current and in the possession of the persons or organizations from whom you are seeking a nomination.

______ If you are seeking an athletic scholarship, send a copy of your game schedule to the appropriate coaches; ask your high school coaches about contacts they may have.

______ If portfolios, audition tapes, writing samples, or other evidence of talent are required for admission or for scholarships, finalize them.

______ If admission interviews are required or recommended, schedule them.

______ Submit your family's financial information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on or as soon after January 1 as possible. Your counselor can tell you if the schools you are applying to require additional financial aid forms.

______ Apply for state financial aid; your counselor can tell you whether your state requires information in addition to the FAFSA.

______ If the financial aid processor requests additional financial information in order to process your application, submit it promptly.

______ Confirm that all school admissions application materials, including recommendations, have been sent on schedule.

______ Request that your high school send a copy of your transcript which includes first semester senior grades to the schools to which you have applied.

______ Review your Student Aid Report (SAR) for accuracy. If necessary, correct inaccurate items on the SAR and return it to the FAFSA processor. If you had a college transmit your FAFSA data directly to the CPS, you must notify the school of any changes or corrections. When a corrected SAR is returned to you, review it once more and then if correct, place all parts of the SAR in your financial aid file.

______ If the school requests your SAR, submit it promptly. Do this even if the SAR says you are not eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant, as the school may be able to offer you other aid based on the information in that report.

______ If the schools to which you are applying require additional application forms for financial aid or request copies of your family's income tax returns for verification, submit them immediately.

______ Continue to seek and apply for private scholarships.

______ Make your final decision about which college you will attend. Notify the college of your choice in writing by the appropriate deadline. Decline, in writing, other offers of admission (other students may be waiting for that place in the freshman class).

______ Review your financial aid award letter with your parents; be sure that you understand the terms and conditions that apply to each type of aid offered.

______ Sign your financial aid award letter and any other items requiring your signature and return them. Schedule an appointment with the school's financial aid administrator if you have questions or wish to discuss the contents of your award letter. If a personal visit is not possible, call the financial aid office and ask for an extension of time so that you can make up your mind.

______ Notify the financial aid office of any outside scholarships, grants, or other kinds of student aid from private sources that you will receive.

______ If you have received financial aid award letters from schools whose offers of enrollment or aid you have decided to decline, notify the aid office in writing (other students who wish to attend that school will need the aid).

______ Complete separate application forms for any loan funds that require such application; understand all of your rights and responsibilities before you and/or your parents sign a promissory note.

______ Arrange with the school for housing and a meal plan, if necessary.

______ Find out when payment of school charges for tuition, fees, room and board, and so on will actually be due; plan how you will meet those charges. Be sure you understand how financial aid will be disbursed and whether you can defer bill payment until the funds are available.

______ Be aware of any summer orientation sessions that you must attend at the school in which you will enroll and make plans accordingly.

______ Apply for a summer job.

______ Continue to talk with your family about how you will pay for college expenses that financial aid will not cover. Investigate tuition payment plans that the school may offer or accept.

______ Make a plan for saving a portion of your summer earnings.

______ Prepare a proposed budget for your freshman year in college.

______ If a Federal Work-Study opportunity is part of your aid package, remember that it may be your responsibility to find an appropriate job. You will need to follow up with the financial aid office as soon as you arrive on campus.

______ Return any additional materials related to course selection, financial aid, or bills for tuition and other charges on a timely basis.

National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Opening Doors of Educational Opportunity
Copyright © 2004 by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
All rights reserved.
Updated April 2004.