Action Plan: Your Senior
Where did the years go? In the blink of an eye, it seems, your freshman turned into a senior, and is now knee-deep in the college application process. Perhaps the most important advice you can give him as he enters his senior year is that it really does count! Contrary to popular belief, senior grades do matter even after you've gotten into the college of your choice. So, don't let your high schooler catch senioritis. Especially important this year is staying organized and meeting application deadlines.
Sample Resume
September
§ Your son may opt to take the ACT again to aim for higher scores. Help him register online for fall tests.
§ Your son should request applications, brochures, and financial aid information from the admissions offices of the colleges to which he's applying.
§ Make campus visits to as many of the colleges on your son's list as possible this fall. To get a feel for the campus, encourage him to talk to students, take a tour, sit in on a class and try to stay overnight in a dorm. Be sure to schedule an admissions interview and meet with a financial aid officer.
§ Review admission requirements for each college.
§ Help your son review admission requirements for each college to which he's applying. You can do this online with College Search. He should check in with his counselor to review his transcript and confirm that he's meeting all the required academic and testing requirements. If necessary, he should adjust his course schedule. He should also talk to his counselor about financial aid options and local scholarships.
§ Have your son request application materials for targeted scholarships and grants, and confirm that he meets the eligibility requirements for each program.
October
§ My College List can help your child manage his list of schools online, compare them side-by-side at a glance, and track requirements and his application for each college.
§ It's time for your son to ask teachers, counselors, coaches, and other mentors to write recommendation letters.
§ Is your son applying Early Decision or Early Action? If so, be careful to meet all application deadlines. Most fall in October or November.
§ Your son should work on college application essays.
§ Some colleges and scholarship programs require the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application. Visit PROFILE Online to learn more and to submit your application online. Get help tackling the PROFILE.
§ Encourage your son to use collegeboard.com's Scholarship Search and to ask his counselor about local scholarships.
November
§ Encourage your son to practice college interviews with trusted family members, friends, or guidance staff.
§ Review your son's completed school and scholarship applications and essays to make sure they're error-free and clear. You may want to have another person review them, too. Note that many scholarship application deadlines are in December.
December
§ Your son should complete and send in college applications and scholarship applications this month.
§ Get a copy of the Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or, after January 1, complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Get help tackling the FAFSA.
§ Male students who will be 18 at the time they complete the FAFSA must register with Selective Service.
§ Advise your son to avoid senioritis and stay focused.
January
§ Submit the FAFSA as soon as possible after January 1. Complete the FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
§ Colleges like to see strong second semester grades, so advise your son to avoid senioritis.
February
§ Most priority financial aid deadlines fall in February. Complete the necessary aid forms, including FAFSA and CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. Keep copies of everything that you send.
§ About four weeks after mailing in your child's FAFSA, you'll receive the Student Aid Report (SAR). Review it for accuracy.
March
§ Encourage your son to start looking for a summer opportunity—either a job, internship, or volunteer opportunity. Real-world experience can give you son a preview of careers in which he's interested. This may help him to focus his studies in college and when he's selecting a major.
April
§ Most admission decisions and financial aid award letters arrive this month. You and your son should read each carefully, and note all reply deadlines.
§ Review financial aid packages. Use the Compare Your Aid Awards tool to do a side-by-side comparison.
§ Send the enrollment form and deposit check to the college your child will attend.
§ Your son should notify the other colleges to which he was accepted of her decision.
§ If waitlisted by a college, encourage your son to contact the admission director to reiterate her interest in the school. Use College Search to find colleges whose deadlines haven't passed.
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§ If not admitted to any of the colleges to which he applied, your son should see his counselor immediately. Use College Search to find colleges whose application deadlines haven't passed.
May
If it will be difficult for your family to pay the Expected Family Contribution for the semester, it's time to start pursuing alternatives such as parent loans or private loans to close the financial aid gap.
§ Taking SAT Subject Tests™ may enable your son to place out of freshman academic requirements or help placement in advanced classes.
§ Have your son send thank-you notes to teachers and other mentors who wrote recommendations.
Summer
§ A final transcript should be sent to your son's college.
§ Encourage your son to finalize summer plans.
§ Have your son send thank-you notes to scholarship programs that have given him aid.
§ Notify the financial aid office of your child's college about any scholarships he's been offered.
§ Give your son a chance to relax and enjoy himself this summer. He's earned it!
§ Help your child start packing.