Preparing your student for College Freshman through Senior Year Source: College Board, ACT,

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Preparing your student for CollegeFreshman
through Senior YearSource College Board, ACT,
Career Cruising Prepared by Andrew J. Franklin
School Counselor

• Kaneland High School Student Services
• http//www.kaneland.org/khs/guidance/

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Start the PlanFreshman Year!Fall

• Your Child's high school counselor
• Graduation requirements, and how the grading
  system works
• Enrolled in strong college preparatory classes
  recommended classes
• Select meaningful electives, Advanced Placement
  Program courses if appropriate
• Plan a four-year extracurricular and athletic
  activity schedule. Encourage him to stick with
  commitments.
• Encourage your child to read, read, and read some
  more
• Monitor Grades, and keep in close contact with
  teachers
• Transition time from Middle School to High School
  is tough!

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College Entrance Requirements

• English 4 Years
• Mathematics (Algebra 1 and above) 3 Years
• Social Studies 3 Years
• Science 3 Years
• Foreign Language (of the same language) 2 Years
• Many colleges may also require additional courses
  in
• Mathematics
• Fine and Performing Arts
• Computer Science

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Fall through Winter

• Learn about Career Cruising and help your student
  investigate Careers and College Majors/Minors
  www.careercruising.com
• Investigate www.collegzone.com web site.
• Learn how you can help your child develop good
  homework skills
• Get informed about college costs. Explore your
  family's options for financing your child's
  college education and learn how financial aid
  works.
• How much money will your family need to pay for
  college? Use the online College Savings
  Calculator.

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Spring to Summer

• Work with students schedule for next year
• Start looking for a summer job, internship, or
  volunteer opportunity.
• Investigate summer learning programs offered to
  high school students at colleges
• Investigate College Zone www.collegezone.com
• Research more Colleges that fit your students
  needs.

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Sophomore, Summer/Fall

• Review Class Schedule
• Update his four-year extracurricular and athletic
  activity schedule
• Meet with your child's teachers
• Learn about the PLAN Test given to the sophomore
  class in the Fall http//www.act.org/plan/

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ACTInformation

• Watch this five-minute video to see how ACT's
  EXPLORE and PLAN programs can help students get
  ready for college.

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Sophomore Winter/Spring

• Read the latest news on today's college costs and
  how financial aid works.
• Use the College Savings Calculator
• Encourage your child to keep up the good work in
  subjects he's strong in, and help him set goals
  for improvement in weaker areas.
• Your child should meet with a school counselor to
  review schedule possible AP courses to take
  during junior year.
• search online for summer learning programs
  offered to high school students at colleges and
  other institutions.
• Look into summer job or summer internships

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Junior Year Fall

• September
• This year the PSAT/NMSQT counts! Taking it can
  qualify your child to receive a National Merit
  Scholarship. Be sure your child is signed up to
  take the PSAT/NMSQT this October.
• Your child should pick up a copy of the
  PSAT/NMSQT Student Bulletin at the school's
  guidance office, and take the enclosed practice
  test. For further practice, your child should use
  the online PSAT/NMSQT Preparation Center.
• Encourage your child to meet with the school
  counselor to compare the academic requirements
  for each of his target schools and his own course
  schedule. If necessary, he should adjust his
  schedule.

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JuniorOctober

• October
• Your child takes the PSAT/NMSQT. Be sure he
  checks 'yes' for Student Search Service to hear
  from colleges and scholarships.
• In the Midwest, we use the ACT testing for
  college entrance. www.act.org
• SOME SCHOOLS ON THE EAST AND WEST COAST USE THE
  SAT TESTING FOR COLLEGE ENTRANCE.
• Visit the SAT Preparation Center to download a
  free diagnostic mini-SAT, and to get SAT
  PrepPacks to focus his practice where he needs
  it most.
• Take your child to college fairs in your area.

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JuniorNovember

• November
• Fall is a good time to start the college search!
  Encourage your child to brainstorm a list of
  characteristics that are important to her (e.g.,
  location, size). By plugging criteria into
  College Search your child can find schools that
  suit his needs. He should contact the colleges to
  request applications and financial aid
  information.
• Help your child identify test requirements for
  his target schools, including scores for the SAT,
  SAT Subject Tests, ACT, and others.
• His PSAT/NMSQT scores can give him an idea of
  what he would score on the SAT and help him focus
  his practice for it.
• Tap resources at your child's high school, in the
  community, and online to learn how your family
  can finance your child's target colleges. Learn
  about today's college costs and how financial aid
  works.
• Use the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
  Calculator to estimate how much your family will
  be expected to pay.

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JuniorDecember

• December
• Make sure your teen registers to take the ACT.
  (Most students first take the ACT during their
  junior year.)
• Help your child register online for the SAT and
  SAT Subject Tests, which are offered several
  times during the year. Many colleges require or
  recommend 1-3 Subject Tests for admission or
  placement. If your child is planning to apply
  early decision, he should be sure to complete
  required tests by the end of junior year.
• Encourage your child to find out about college
  firsthand from friends who are home from college
  for the holidays.

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Requesting a Copy of Your Test Questions
Answers from ACT

• Test Information Release (TIR)
• Which test dates offer this service?
• If you took the ACT at a national test center on
  one of the dates listed below, you can order TIR
  during the three-month period after your test
  date. This service is not offered on any other
  test dates or for any non-national
  administrations.
• 20072008
• Saturday, December 8, 2007
• Thursday, April 10, through Monday, April 14, 2008
  
• Saturday, June 14, 2008
• To order this optional service, download the Test
  Information Release Order Form

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JuniorJanuary

• January
• Help your child organize a file for college
  brochures and information. Before you know it,
  they'll start pouring in.
• Use collegeboard.com's online Scholarship Search
  to find aid that matches your child's skills and
  interests. Talk to the school counselor with your
  child about local scholarship opportunities.

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Junior February

• February
• Students at Kaneland will take a free ACT test in
  April with a PSAE Work Keys Test.
• http//www.act.org/workkeys/index.html
• WORK KEYS IS OFFERED FREE AT KANELAND, ALONG WITH
  AN ONLINE ACT PREP TUTORIAL, NEW THIS YEAR!!!
• Your child can visit the SAT Preparation Center
  to focus his practice for upcoming SAT tests.
• Plan to visit college campuses with your child
  this spring while classes are in session.
  Schedule interviews with admissions officers

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Junior March

• March
• Most students take the ACTSAT in spring of
  junior year and/or fall of senior year. Help your
  child register online for spring and summer SAT
  tests. Act register www.act.org
• Your child should meet with her counselor to
  discuss AP courses to take senior year. He may
  want to consider taking a course at a local
  college, especially if he's interested in a
  subject for which his school doesn't offer AP
  courses.
• Now is a great time for your child to start
  looking for a summer job, internship, or
  volunteer opportunity. Real-world experience can
  give your child a preview of careers in which
  he's interested. This may help him focus his
  studies in college and when he's selecting a
  major.
• Encourage your child to search online for summer
  learning programs offered to high school students
  at colleges.
• Waubonsee Community College http//www.wcc.cc.il.u
  s/community/community_ed.php

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JuniorApril

• April
• AP Exams are in May. Encourage your child to
  visit the AP Prep Center for tips and prep
  materials.
• Attend local college fairs with your child.
• If applicable, your child should prepare writing
  samples, portfolios, audition tapes, and other
  material for the fall application season.

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JuniorMay/Summer

• May
• Your child can take SAT Subject Tests when he has
  successfully completed the corresponding high
  school course (B average or better).
• Help your child make a resume of her
  accomplishments, activities, and work experience.
  
• Summer
• Visit college campuses with your student. Call
  ahead for tour and open house schedules.
• If your child is planning to take the SAT in the
  fall, he should register online now.
• Discuss different college majors with your child
  that relate to his interests and career goals.

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Pre-Senior yearSummer

• Use Career Cruising to review your students
  choices for college.
• www.careercruising.com
• By the end of summer, your child should narrow
  his college list to 5-8 schools.
• Your child should have Colleges that match,
  academic interests, extra curricular activities
  (College Sports), and Career interests.
• Help your child prepare drafts of application
  essays for his target schools.
• If your child plans on competing in Division I or
  Division II college sports and wants to be
  eligible to be recruited by colleges, he must
  register with the NCAA Initial Eligibility
  Clearinghouse.
• Together with your child, mark a calendar with
  important application and financial aid dates and
  deadlines for senior year. Start planning for
  dates and deadlines with the College Application
  Calendar and the Financial Aid Calendar.

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Your Senior Year

• September
• Your child may opt to take the ACTSAT again to
  aim for higher scores. Help her register online
  for fall tests. www.act.org
• Your child should request applications,
  brochures, and financial aid information from the
  admissions offices of the colleges to which she's
  applying.
• Make campus visits to as many of the colleges on
  your child's list as possible this fall. To get a
  feel for the campus, encourage your child 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.

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Your Senior YearSeptember Cont

• Help your child review admission requirements for
  each college to which she's applying. You can do
  this online with College Search. She should check
  in with her counselor to review her transcript
  and confirm that she's meeting all the required
  academic and testing requirements. If necessary,
  she should adjust her course schedule. She should
  also talk to her counselor about financial aid
  options and local scholarships.
• Have your child request application materials for
  targeted scholarships and grants, and confirm
  that she meets the eligibility requirements for
  each program.

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SeniorOctober

• October
• Career Cruising www.careercruising.com can help
  your child manage her list of schools online
• It's time for your child to ask teachers,
  counselors, coaches, and other mentors to write
  recommendation letters.
• Is your child applying Early Decision or Early
  Action? If so, be careful to meet all application
  deadlines. Most fall in October or November.
• Your child 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.
• It is recommended that seniors complete and send
  in all college applications by October 31st,
  Halloween!!!!!! BOO!

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SeniorNovember

• November
• Encourage your child to use collegeboard.com's
  Scholarship Search
• Visit Student Services office at Kaneland to pick
  up Scholarships http//www.kaneland.org/khs/guidan
  ce/
• Some College applications due dates are November
  15th.
• Encourage your child to practice college
  interviews with trusted family members or
  friends.
• Review your child'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.

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SeniorDecember

• December
• IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO, Your child
  should complete and send in college applications
  and scholarship applications this month. More Due
  dates are December 15th.
• 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.
• Have your child send ACT www.act.org or send SAT
  scores online to the colleges on her list. Advise
  your child to avoid senioritis and stay focused.

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SeniorJanuary ((IMPORTANT))

• January
• Submit the FAFSA as soon as possible after
  January 1. Complete the FAFSA online at
  www.fafsa.ed.gov.
• Investigate College Zone www.collegezone.com
• Families seeking ways to finance a college
  education should beware of scams (including
  attempts at identity theft or fraud).
• Colleges like to see strong second semester
  grades, so advise your child to avoid senioritis.

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SeniorFebruary

• 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.
• Attend a Financial Aid Night with your child at a
  school in your area.

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SeniorMarch

• March
• Encourage your child to start looking for a
  summer opportunityeither a job, internship, or
  volunteer opportunity. Real-world experience can
  give your child a preview of careers in which
  she's interested. This may help her to focus her
  studies in college and when she's selecting a
  major.

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SeniorApril

• April
• Most admission decisions and financial aid award
  letters arrive this month. You and your child
  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 child should notify the other colleges to
  which she was accepted of her decision.

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SeniorApril Cont

• If waitlisted by a college, encourage your child
  to contact the admission director to reiterate
  her interest in the school. Use College Search to
  find colleges whose deadlines haven't passed.
• If not admitted to any of the colleges to which
  she applied, your child should see her counselor
  immediately. Use College Search to find colleges
  whose application deadlines haven't passed.
• Your child should concentrate on studying for May
  AP Exams. She can earn credit or advanced
  placement at many colleges with a qualifying
  grade. Visit the AP Prep Center.

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SeniorMay

• May
• AP Exams are administered the first two weeks in
  May. Your child should have her scores sent to
  her final-choice college.
• 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 child
  to place out of freshman academic requirements or
  help placement in advanced classes.
• Have your child send thank-you notes to teachers
  and other mentors who wrote recommendations.

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SeniorJune/Summer

• A final transcript should be sent to your child's
  college.
• Contact Kaneland Student Services Department to
  accomplish this.
• http//www.kaneland.org/khs/guidance/
• Send Final Transcript to NCAA Clearinghouse if
  you are planning on participating in Division I.
  or Division II. College athletics
• www.ncaaclearinghouse.net
• Encourage your child to finalize summer plans.
• Have your child send thank-you notes to
  scholarship programs that have given her aid.
• Notify the financial aid office of your child's
  college about any scholarships she's been
  offered.
• Give your child a chance to relax and enjoy
  herself this summer. She's earned it!
• Help your child start packing.
• Use our Off-to-College Checklist ?

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Thanks for attending

• Kaneland Student Services
• http//www.kaneland.org/khs/guidance/