Preparing for College

1. Preparing for College Tips for students (and parents of students) in high school Kristie Copley, PWHS Media Specialist

2. Freshman Year • Get involved in school and community activities. Colleges and scholarship committees prefer students who are well-rounded. • Take college preparatory classes • Start a list of your awards, honors, paid and volunteer work, and extracurricular activities. Update it throughout high school. This will be required for most college and scholarship applications. • Begin exploring careers of interest: Ohio Means Jobs, Occupational Outlook Handbook • Keep your grades up. Many colleges use your grades through the end of your junior year. Resource: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/node/143

3. Sophomore Year • Continue to update your Activities List. If you find it is weak, there is still time to add to it! Use the summer to earn volunteer or work hours. • Research majors that might be a good fit with your interests and goals based on your results from the U.S. Department of Labor’s career search. • Consider taking practice ACT tests to determine areas in which you need to improve. • Also, you may want to consider taking an ACT test in Spring or Summer. If you qualify for Free or Reduces Lunch you can get one fee waiver every year!

4. Junior Year • Explore careers and their earning potential with the Occupational Outlook Handbook search tool. Or, for a fun interactive tool, try this career search. • Go to college fairs and college-preparation presentations hosted by college representatives. • Register for and take exams for college admission. The standardized tests that many colleges require are the SAT, the SAT Subject Tests, and the ACT. Check with the colleges you are interested in to see what tests they require. • Start visiting colleges of interest • Many colleges will use your transcript through your junior year for admissions and scholarship purposes (but that doesn’t mean senior year won’t count!).

5. Senior Year • Stay involved in after-school activities, and seek leadership roles if possible. • Register to take the October and December ACT (improving these scores will help with college admissions and scholarship opportunities). • Visit colleges of interest (all look good on paper). • Continue to go to college fairs and college-preparation presentations hosted by college representatives. • Though not essential, try to figure out career interests to help you decide the best major for college. • Update your Activities List • Make a calendar to keep track of deadlines (college admissions, scholarships, tests, and etc.).

6. Senior Year continued • Both student and parent should create an FSA ID (gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s online systems and can serve as your legal signature). • Complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as soon as possible after it opens on October 1. • Explore and then APPLY to colleges of interest (talk to your guidance counselor to see if you may receive an application fee waiver). • Compare financial aid packages sent to you from the colleges to which you applied. • Seek out and apply for any scholarships (make sure to review eligibility requirements and deadlines) • Contact your preferred college’s financial aid office to discuss other options for loans, scholarships, work study, and etc.

7. Helpful Resources • Prepare for College - https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college • Big Future - https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/

8. Feedback Request • Please provide feedback so that I can improve and revise! Go to the URL below or scan the QR code to complete the feedback form. • http://www.westsenators.org/empower